In the Wenhua Hall, Ren Hengtai, the chief minister of the cabinet, was a little confused.
I didn’t say what I wanted to object to.
Co-author, are you going to be used as a raft by the prince?
Zhu Biao was very angry, but his head was very rational.
"People often say that imperial power does not go to the countryside. It seems that this sentence is absolutely true."
The prince muttered in a faint tone.
The four people present nodded their heads.
Everyone knows this sentence, but no one dares to say it in front of the monarch.
This is taboo.
Even if the monarchs of the past dynasties knew this fact, they could not say it.
From the time the First Emperor unified the world, he abolished the feudal system and established the system of prefectures and counties. Everything in the Central Plains belonged to the emperor alone.
The emperor's power comes from ruling the entire world.
This idea also gave Ming Dynasty its ongoing foreign war an extremely correct core idea.
That is, the whole world is the land of the king.
This is the source of the justice of Ming Dynasty’s current foreign wars.
But once someone said that the emperor's authority could not reach the countryside, then this would damage and shake the emperor's authority and the justice of his rule over the world.
Zhu Biao was equally clear, but said with a solemn face: "No matter what the past was like, whether it was the unification of the world by the Qin Emperor, or the dominance of Confucianism by the powerful Han Dynasty, or the Tiankhan in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, or the former Song Dynasty and the scholar-bureaucrats who paid tribute to the world.
"
The prince recounted the dynasties before the Ming Dynasty.
Under the gaze of four people, he stood up slowly.
Zhu Biao said in an extremely firm tone: "Today's Ming Dynasty can accommodate wealthy families and wealthy businessmen, but only the power of the countryside will be returned to the court."
The three cabinet ministers and a governor-general in front of him all nodded and bowed.
This is what Ming Dynasty will definitely do now.
The former Han Dynasty unified the complex cultural thoughts of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods under Confucianism.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the system of inheritance of aristocratic families was broken again.
The former Song Dynasty once again allowed imperial power to be consolidated, although it was shared with scholar-bureaucrats.
So now we have reached the Ming Dynasty.
How should the imperial power be strengthened?
There is no noble family in the world, and it is impossible for a scholar to stir up the world with just a few words.
Only the rural power under the prefectures and counties was left, which had not yet been controlled by the imperial power.
Ren Hengtai frowned slightly: "This requires the court to spend a huge amount of money and food every year."
A tighter power system requires more people to fill the power gaps and maintain the operation of this new system. This will inevitably increase the court's financial expenditure, and must be maintained.
Following the opening of the chief minister, Zou Xueyu, the governor-general of Zhili, also spoke: "Take Southern Zhili as an example. If we want to return the power of prefectures and counties to the court, we will need to increase the expenditure of no less than 500,000 taels per year. Nan Zhili
Zhili has undergone several reforms, and the two taxes and commercial taxes have been increased, which is enough to maintain it. However, if we want to spread all the ways in the world, we may need to adjust money and food."
Southern Zhili is very rich now.
The current financial revenue of the 18th Prefecture of Zhili has increased several times compared with the 24th year of Hongwu.
Of course, Zou Xueyu also understands that the bulk of this is supported by the reform of the tenement-to-acre system, the commercial and tax reform, and the establishment of a large number of government-run workshops.
Now that these restructurings have been carried out, the growth point has begun to slow down.
That's why Zou Xueyu wanted to carry out a new round of civil service reform, concentrate all the power of the 18th Zhili Prefecture, and transfer all power to the Zhili Governor's Yamen to carry out the next round of economic construction.
Xie Jin said: "In recent years, the imperial court has been reformed, and local areas have been renovated. Although not all the coastal areas are like Zhili. But such as Guangdong Road, Fujian Road, Zhejiang Road, and Shandong Road, due to trade with foreign countries
, the fiscal and tax revenue delivered to the household department every year has also increased significantly. Weichen believes that the Zhili government can be used as a trial now, and if there are no mistakes, it can be spread across the country. The fiscal and tax revenue from the coastal areas can be used to balance the lack of revenue in the mainland
Taoist government."
This is a fiscal transfer.
The wealth in the world can never be exactly the same.
Some places are destined to be richer, while other places are also destined to be relatively poor.
The imperial court cannot expect that the fiscal revenue of Yongning Mansion will be as large as that of Suzhou Mansion.
I'm afraid not many people in the world know exactly where Yongning Mansion is.
“So it is necessary to change the physical tax to collect money per mu.”
Zou Xueyu said calmly, but anyone could see the pride in his eyes.
Nowadays, all the 18 prefectures in Zhili are using the method of collecting money per mu to collect taxes.
When it was first implemented, the struggle gave birth to the Da Ming Bank and Da Ming Commercial House, which dealt a severe blow to the officials and merchants in Zhili territory.
Ren Hengtai immediately said: "Domestic gold and silver prices need to be further controlled, and the casting and circulation of copper coins need to be guaranteed. The court should strictly prohibit officials and gentry, and the common people should be buried with coins. The money notes issued by the Ming Dynasty Bank must also strengthen anti-counterfeiting and not be given to bad people.
There is an opportunity for fraud. I believe that the system of collecting money per mu can be implemented in the 18th Prefecture of Zhili for a few years, and the money notes can be circulated throughout the country. After the court understands the situation, it will be implemented in all walks of life in the world."
The first assistant's words can be regarded as prudent words.
The remaining three people did not object.
Zhu Biao sat down again, thought for a while and said slowly: "Let's take a three-year period, from the 30th year of Hongwu to the 33rd year of Hongwu. By then, if there is no money to collect money and the bank account is issued, then
If you make mistakes, you will be able to travel all the ways in the world."
The four of them bowed to accept the order.
Only then did Gao Yangzhi speak: "In this assessment of the officials in the 18th Prefecture of Zhili, only all the officials in the Yingtian Prefecture were taken into consideration, and only half of the officials in the remaining 17th Prefecture were taken into consideration. The imperial court must make clear its decrees, and it must not be done.
Let the unhealthy trends prevail, and let the people of the world see clearly the imperial court's determination to reform."
This is the core issue of today's Wenhua Palace meeting.
How to deal with the evaluation of officials in the 18th Prefecture of Nanzhili this time, and those officials who have not been consulted.
Zou Xueyu, the governor of Zhili, was the most aware of the problems. He spoke first: "The governor's office has verified from many sources that most of the missing officials this time are from people with deep roots in the local area. They have been working in the government all year round, and many of their children are working in the government.
among.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Often, the positions of government officials are often inherited hereditary. When the court appoints new officials to take office, if they want to make a difference, they must first make good friends with these people.
But when it comes to local governance, because of the existence of these people, there are many concerns when governing."
After Zou Xueyu finished explaining the situation, Ren Hengtai snorted coldly and said sharply: "Since they are not willing to refer to it, there is no need to stay in the yamen. Let's get rid of them all."
After saying that, the chief assistant looked at the prince.
I didn't plead for mercy for those bastards below, I even had to deal with these people harshly.
Gao Yangzhi said: "The imperial court will naturally punish them with heavy rules, but before that, the students thought that they could also order the Jinyi Guards to strictly investigate these people, and order the tax department to cooperate and inventory the properties of these officials. How can these people be so confident today?
, I think they all have confidence, so let’s check carefully what their confidence is!”
Obviously, according to what this young cabinet minister said, not only should those who missed the official examination of the 18th Zhili Prefecture be severely punished, but the families behind them should also be severely investigated.
The Jin Yiwei and the tax bureau were dispatched at the same time, so naturally the Jin Yiwei took the people and the tax bureau ransacked the house.
Ren Hengtai glanced at the young man in the cabinet indifferently.
The chief assistant said nothing.
Ren Hengtai did not intend to get entangled in this matter because of the obvious words the prince had said earlier.
Zou Xueyu's eyes shone.
Sure enough, Senior Gao is still as brave as before.
The reason why the imperial court's rule in Jiaozhi Road was able to proceed so quickly and smoothly was because of the strong rule of the seniors, coupled with division and co-optation, which brought a calm Jiaozhi Road to the hands of the court.
Otherwise, Gao Yangzhi would not have been able to enter the cabinet on the day he returned to Beijing.
Finally, all four of them turned their attention to the prince above.
When the emperor was in the capital, most matters in the court were already decided by the prince.
But now, the emperor is not in the capital.
All matters in the court were decided by the prince alone.
Everyone knew that the emperor never expressed dissatisfaction with every decision made by the prince.
Everyone even firmly believed that as long as the Crown Prince was willing, His Majesty the Emperor would happily abandon government affairs completely and hide in a secluded and beautiful place to entertain his grandchildren.
It must be said that this time the emperor secretly left the capital, it is very likely that this factor was involved.
Gao Yangzhi was a little confused.
The suggestions I made can be said to be extremely harsh.
But it was obvious that the prince did not seem satisfied with such a proposal.
While everyone was waiting in confusion.
Zhu Biao smiled faintly and spoke slowly: "In the past few years, the court's life has become better, and the people of the world have also lived a better life. The people have enough to eat, and the officials, gentry and merchants are richer than before.
This is a good thing, but it is also not a good thing.
It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. The world has only been at peace for thirty years. In the past, there were the Hu Weiyong case, the Kongyin case, and the Guo Heng case. Later, there were reforms to eliminate the old.
But these seem to have been forgotten. I, the Ming Dynasty, have strict laws."
The four of them were silent for a while.
What the prince said was not wrong. The life of the government and the public has indeed become better in recent years.
But people's hearts are also beginning to become impetuous.
The unprecedented Western Region plan given by the Metropolitan Governor's Office is a clear proof.
"It's time for everyone to tighten up." Zhu Biao said calmly, with a firm look: "Let's take legal action. Jin Yiwei will take the person, the Three Law Department will convict him, and the tax office will conduct an investigation. The Ministry of Personnel will write a document to reprimand the 17th Prefecture of Zhili.
County officials are not allowed to be promoted within three years.
All those who are related to the absence of official positions this time will be dealt with strictly by the Jin Yiwei. Those who deserve to be killed will be killed, those who deserve to be demoted will be demoted, and those who deserve to be exiled will be sent to places farther away and more miserable."
The prince is going to start a big case!
In an instant, the four people in the Wenhua Hall were shocked.
If we follow what the Crown Prince said, tens of thousands of people in the 17th Mansion of Zhili Road will be implicated this time, and thousands of people will be tried and executed.
Ren Hengtai was mentioned once today. How could he dare to object at this time?
Gao Yangzhi was a little surprised and had a new understanding of the Crown Prince's determination.
The pair of masters and disciples, Xie Jin and Zou Xueyu, looked at each other.
The two of them had no intention of speaking.
In front of them was the first prince after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, who had the authority of the emperor.
The case of absenteeism in the Southern Zhili official assessment will be carried out according to the will of the Crown Prince.
After thinking for a short time, the four people immediately bowed and accepted the order.
Zhu Biao nodded: "Let's all go. We will be busy next time. I will ask the Imperial Hospital to prescribe some nourishing decoction and order the imperial kitchen to cook it and send it to the cabinet."
The four of them walked out of the Wenhua Hall in a daze.
In their understanding, it seems that there has been no major case in Ming Dynasty for many years.
Maybe people are being found out and executed every day, just like His Highness the King of Qin who has been enforcing the law of dividing the land into his own land. From time to time, a few people who oppose it will be killed.
But it seems that it has not happened for many, many years that tens of thousands of people were imputed to one case at once.
Not long after the four Ren Hengtai walked out of Wenhua Hall.
Several men in flying fish uniforms hurried past them.
The four of them stopped at the same time and watched the Jin Yiwei people leave.
"It seems that His Highness is very determined." Ren Hengtai smiled lightly.
Xie Jin glanced at the chief minister and said silently: "I think His Highness wants to cut through the mess quickly. If so, the cabinet should take action quickly."
Ren Hengtai nodded.
Once the Jin Yiwei takes action, it must be as fast as fire and extremely fast.
This group of people will not take the Great Ming Law and explain to everyone what they have committed.
As long as the Jin Yiwei confirms that the person he is looking for is the person he is looking for, he will directly go up and capture him, then take him back to the capital and throw him into Zhao Prison.
Gao Yangzhi frowned and said with some confusion: "It's just... why did His Highness want to go to war so aggressively this time?"
How many people in Nanzhili will die this time and how many people will be unlucky are not among Gao Yangzhi's considerations.
No matter what the outcome is, these people are asking for it.
He just didn't understand why the prince would choose to start a big case when he could solve the problem of Nanzhili step by step.
Zou Xueyu, who originally looked calm, frowned after hearing this.
After Gao Yangzhi's reminder, Ren Hengtai and He Jin also fell into thinking.
Why did the prince do this?
Suddenly, it became a difficult question in the minds of the four important officials in charge of the empire.
But no matter how they think.
Jin Yiwei has already begun to take action.
In recent years, Jin Yiwei has expanded to a certain extent, but except for the core documents within Jin Yiwei, no one knows how much power Jin Yiwei currently has.
It was just that groups of royal guards rushed out from the gates of Yingtian City.
From top to bottom in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, everyone was working like crazy.
The laws of the Ming Dynasty are about to be broken by these supervisory censors, who have long known it by heart, just so that everyone in this major case decided by the prince himself can be charged with a suitable crime.
And when everyone is busy.
Inside the imperial city, Zhu Biao seemed very relaxed.
After the matter was explained, he only needed to see that the final result was in line with his expectations.
As for how the people below do it and what the process is like, it is not something he needs to worry about.
While busy outside the palace.
The palace was filled with the laughter of children.