The most important thing is that Li Chengqian also jumped out at this time, and made a benevolent, righteous and filial appearance in front of Li Shimin, saying that the construction of the "Yangxin Hall" will be stopped, and all the carpenters under his command will be dispatched to help the Ministry of Household Construction build "
"Royal Workshop".
As a result, Li Chengqian's argument was immediately praised by Li Shimin and all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, who all praised Li Chengqian as a person who understood the general situation and took into account the overall situation.
And this was what Muchuan expected. Although Li Chengqian said last night that he would go back and think about it, various factors forced him to transfer the carpenter back to the household department.
Li Shimin just happened to mention this matter today, so Li Chengqian moved the carpenters back.
At noon, the residence of the Minister of Household Affairs in Chang'an City.
In the main hall, Ouyang Bufan sat on a four-legged chair and slapped his thigh: "Okay, Master Mu, you are really good at predicting things! I said before that Li Chengqian would obediently transfer the carpentry back to you, and it turned out to be like this!"
"Actually, you can guess it."
Muchuan understood Li Chengqian's situation. Now the entire court seemed peaceful, but it was filled with all kinds of ups and downs and tensions.
For example, Crown Prince Li Chengqian is the most nervous person. Although he holds the high position of Crown Prince, he must always be wary of his biggest competitor, Li Tai.
Li Tai was talented and talented, and many civil servants in the court were on his side. The most important thing was that Li Tai was deeply favored by the emperor.
For this reason, there were faint rumors in the court that Li Tai would seize the position of "Crown Prince".
Regardless of whether Li Tai has this ambition or not, Li Chengqian, as his elder brother, naturally has to be on guard. After all, the battle for the throne is a game of "the winner and the loser, the weak and the weak". It is not uncommon for brothers to usurp the throne. The most obvious example is
Did Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, raise an army to seize the throne?
It is precisely because Li Chengqian has this intention and wants to consolidate the power of his court that he asks for credit in front of Li Shimin and creates a persona of "a good prince and a good minister".
Muchuan also took a fancy to this aspect of Li Chengqian, knowing that the other party would definitely cater to him after he proposed the theory of "virtuous economic cycle".
"In this way, the problem of our household department has finally been solved."
"No! It's not solved yet."
Ouyang Bufan said in a solemn voice, "There is one more thing we need to solve."
"What's up?"
"Our household department has no money!"
No money?
This made Muchuan stunned. How could a good person have no money? After he carried out economic reforms, the entire Tang Dynasty became significantly more prosperous. The circulation of goods accelerated, taxes increased, and the treasury was full. It was impossible to have no money.
ah.
Muchuan asked with a dark face: "Isn't it possible that your kid is lining your own pockets?"
"How is that possible! Master Mu, you have really wronged me. Even if I had ten courages, I would not dare to do such a thing!"
As he spoke, Ouyang Bufan straightened his clothes and looked aloof and arrogant, "I am a famous merchant in Chang'an City. My Ouyang family has strong financial resources, so there is no need to engage in corruption."
Although he didn't want to admit it, Ouyang Bufan did come from a wealthy businessman's family and had strong financial resources. There was really no need to do this "decapitation" thing.
"Then why is the Ministry of Revenue running out of money?"
"It's not because of you, Master Mu!"
Ouyang Bufan started to complain with a cold face.
Although Muchuan implemented economic reforms, the economic situation of the entire Tang Dynasty did improve. People had a surplus of food, business developed rapidly, and materials were abundant.
But it is precisely because of this economic reform that the Ministry of Household Affairs cannot make ends meet!
The focus of economic reform is to "reduce taxes", such as land tax, grain tax, goods transfer tax, etc. Even if the total transaction volume increases rapidly, fiscal revenue will decrease due to the decline in tax revenue.
On the other hand, during his tenure as Minister of Household Affairs, Muchuan vigorously developed public infrastructure, built commercial roads, built harbors, built industrial buildings, etc., all of which required money!
"It's just because you, Mr. Mu, spend money randomly, so the Ministry of Finance has no money!"
Hearing what Ouyang Bufan said, Muchuan couldn't help but laugh: "It seems that there is such a thing."
In fact, Muchuan's economic theory is based on the modern model. In modern times, in order to promote rapid economic development, various countries will maintain appropriate fiscal deficits, reinvest fiscal revenue into the private sector, and stimulate the economy through various methods and channels.
However, Muchuan overlooked one point: the modern economic model has such an economic model because of its advanced political system.
At present, the Tang Dynasty still has a feudal imperial dictatorship system. It is impossible for the court to maintain a deficit revenue, right?
Muchuan couldn't help but rub his head: "After calculation, the available financial balance of the Ministry of Revenue is indeed very small... How about going to the royal treasury to make an advance."
"Master Mu, are you stupid?
How can you make decisions about the money from the royal treasury!"
"Haha, I just said it casually, it really doesn't work..."
The so-called royal treasury is a part divided from the imperial treasury and specially provided for the use of the royal family.
This money is under the care of the Ministry of Rites, and members of the royal family can apply for its use.
In fact, according to Muchuan's idea, if the Ministry of Revenue has no money, then it can be advanced from the royal family's treasury and paid back when there is money. This will not affect the lives of the royal family.
But if you think about it carefully, the money advanced to the royal treasury will affect the daily expenses of the royal family. Even if it is a short-term impact, the arrogant royal family must be unhappy. I am afraid that Li Shimin will not trouble him.
The various princes and princesses would also cause trouble for him.
"It's distressing and distressing, so we have to find a way to get some money."
Currently, the Ministry of Household Affairs is carrying out a large number of projects, such as the construction of "Royal Workshops", "Caravan Construction and Operation", etc. These projects are currently unprofitable, and the fastest way to make money will be a month later, when official merchants can
You have to sell the latest batch of "food seasonings" to make money.
It would be easy to do it in modern times. By borrowing from financial institutions, you can alleviate the financial stress and prevent the loss of funds.
At this moment, Ouyang Bufan seemed to have thought of something and smiled: "I have thought of a way to make money."
"oh?"
Muchuan was pleasantly surprised and immediately asked what the solution was.
It turned out that Ouyang Bufan's so-called method was to confiscate his home!
Not long after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, many powerful officials and corrupt officials tried their best to plunder the people's money and anoint them. As a result, they starved the people's stomachs and made them fat.
If the homes of corrupt officials can be copied, it will naturally greatly enrich the national treasury and empower the court to improve its financial revenue and expenditure.
The question is, where did the corrupt officials come from to confiscate their homes?
Muchuan had already confiscated a number of people's homes when he first became Minister of Household Affairs. It would not be easy to do so again.
