On the stage, Zuo Long, the chief envoy of Northern Zhili, broke into a cold sweat. Under the stage, many of the feudal officials from various parts of the Ming Dynasty were also thinking deeply at this time.
It stands to reason that Zuo Long's report card should be very good, but now it seems that in front of Liu Jin, the heavenly official, Zuo Long's performance is obviously average, and can even be said to be terrible.
"In the future, we will plan to build more schools, private schools, etc., and we will also build more medical clinics."
"The reconstruction of Tianjin's old city has been unable to be implemented mainly because the original old city is difficult to demolish."
"In the future, I will focus on addressing urban security and sanitation issues, cracking down on gangs and evil forces, and adding more sanitation workers."
Zuo Long replied with sweat on his forehead.
There is no doubt that his reply did not satisfy Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jin and others. You obviously have no plan and have not really done much.
Perhaps the only thing he did was to build a lot of roads in Beizhili, and he did a good job in this area.
"Go back and think about it carefully and plan carefully. Beizhili is a place between Beijing and Tianjin. It is possible to achieve the current results because the area between Beijing and Tianjin itself is developing rapidly. As the governor of Beizhili, The only political achievement of a political envoy is in building bridges and paving roads."
Emperor Hongzhi put away his smile and said.
"Yes, Your Majesty~"
Zuo Long wiped the sweat from his forehead, it was really bad now.
I originally thought that the data I listed were very good, and that I might be able to get a promotion. But now it seems that it is hard to say whether I can keep my position as the chief envoy of Beizhili.
Beizhili is very fat, far from being comparable to other places, and it is close to the emperor. Although it is not a capital official, it is almost as good as a capital official.
If you make achievements, you can easily get promoted.
"Please ask Feng Shiyong, the Chief Minister of Southern Zhili, to come forward and report his duties~"
When Liu Jin saw Zuo Long go down, Liu Jin continued to read from the list.
The status of South Zhili and North Zhili are almost the same. They are also the two most important provinces in the Ming Dynasty. South Zhili mainly includes Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanghai in later generations. It can be said to be the most prosperous region in the Ming Dynasty, a land of plenty, Jiangnan. Land refers to these areas.
"Thanks to His Majesty's grace, I have the honor to serve as the Chief Envoy of South Zhili... In the past three years, the people of South Zhili live and work in peace and contentment, all industries are prosperous, and the people of Wufu are prosperous..."
Feng Shiyong is an old man in his sixties. He has a typical traditional official style, which is completely different from Zuo Long, the chief minister of North Zhili.
His report is more like writing a gorgeous article praising virtues and praising the prosperous times. There is no data at all in the entire article. You have no idea how many newborns there are in Nanzhili in a year and how much taxes are collected in a year. Silver, how many roads, bridges, etc. have been built.
Listening, listening, Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but frowned. What he didn't like to hear the most now was these false and flowery words, such as the prosperous times, the banquet of Haiqinghe River and so on.
These are all false. How did you prosper in this prosperous age?
In Liu Jin's words, it is necessary to use data, such as how much new population has been added, how much tax money has been mentioned, how many roads and railways have been built, how much income the people can get in a month, how high the consumption level is, etc.
Only through these can we reflect whether it is a prosperous age or not?
It’s not just what you officials say. Perhaps in the eyes of these traditional officials, a prosperous age is considered a prosperous time if there are no famines, the people can have enough to eat, and there are no foreign enemies.
"Master Feng, how much did the population of Nanzhili increase last year?"
Liu Jin directly interrupted Feng Shiyong from reciting the beautiful words he had written and asked.
"Southern Zhili is so big, how do I know how many people there are in South Zhili in a year, and there is no census."
Feng Shiyong looked at Liu Jin. To be honest, he was a little unhappy with Liu Jin.
I am over sixty years old, but I am just a chief envoy. You are already a minister in your thirties, and it is almost the same if we change positions, so he does not have the respect for Liu Jin that subordinates have for superiors.
"How much tax did Nanzhili collect in total last year, and how much did it increase compared to the year before?"
Liu Jin continued to ask.
"Collection of taxes is a matter of the tax yamen. Just ask the tax yamen to find out. As for the growth, I don't know. In my opinion, this tax collection is to plunder the people's fat and anointing. The ancient kings, all dynasties, all the saints and wise kings,
The prosperous dynasties were all about light corvee and low taxes. The more taxes were collected, the more the people were squeezed."
Not only did Feng Shiyong not know how much tax money was collected last year, he even refuted the tax policy originally proposed by Liu Jin on the spot and opposed Liu Jin's proposal to include taxation in the official assessment.
"Master Feng, as the chief envoy of Southern Zhili, you don't know anything about the situation in Southern Zhili, and you completely ignore the government's repeated orders. How did you become the chief envoy?"
Liu Jin's face was serious and he began to question him without any hesitation in front of everyone.
"I, Feng Shiyong, don't need you to teach me when I am an official~"
"I am an honest and upright official. When I was the chief envoy of Nanzhili, I always encouraged the people to teach mulberry and cultivate themselves with the people. I did not disturb the people, and I was light on corvee and low on taxes. This is the way to be an official since ancient times."
"South Zhili is prosperous, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and all industries are prosperous. Isn't this the result of me being a shepherd?"
Feng Shiyong, who was already old, was questioned by Liu Jin in his early thirties in front of the emperor and everyone. His beard was so angry that he asked Liu Jin back very forcefully.
"South Zhili is prosperous, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and all industries are prosperous?"
"What evidence do you have for this?"
"How prosperous is this prosperity? How much has the population increased? How much has the income of ordinary people increased?"
"And why do you say that these things in Nanzhili are all your fault?"
"South Zhili has been a prosperous place since ancient times, and it was also the richest place in the Ming Dynasty. However, in recent years, the development of South Zhili has been much slower than that of North Zhili. Last year, South Zhili's tax revenue was less than
Half of that in Beizhili, in terms of average salary.”
"The North Zhili side has more than five taels of silver, while the South Zhili side only has four taels of silver a month, which is completely surpassed by the North Zhili side."
"In addition, North Zhili has implemented county-county connectivity, while South Zhili has not yet implemented prefecture-level connectivity, right?"
Liu Jin smiled and brought out several data to refute Feng Shiyong. Feng Shiyong was immediately speechless and didn't know how to respond.
Because he is indeed the style and representative of the old-school officials, typical of the former old-school officials.
Of course, this is also related to the situation in the Jiangnan region. The development of capitalism and colonialism in the Jiangnan region is slower than that in the Beijing-Tianjin region. At the same time, a large number of traditional big families, big gentry, and big businessmen also hinder the development of capitalism and colonialism.
main driving force.
The most direct manifestation of this is that in Jiangnan, taxation is the most difficult.
Even if there are tax yamen to collect taxes by force, it is far less easy in Jiangnan than in other places, so that tax yamens are often besieged and tax collectors are beaten.
The conservative forces in the Jiangnan area are very strong.
From old officials like Feng Shiyong to businessmen, gentry, etc. in the Jiangnan area, they still like the old days most, especially when it comes to taxation. They like the old days without having to pay taxes the most.
In the past, the salt merchants who were the richest in the world were extremely rich. However, after a year, they did not need to pay any tax at all. A wealthy county only had to pay more than one hundred taels of silver a year.
As for the officials, they also liked the old days. They were so romantic and comfortable. The businessmen and gentry would continue to send money to them. In three years, they would clear the prefectural government of one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver. This was the situation.
But it's different now. The tax yamen collects taxes by force. The gentry and merchants in Jiangnan are having a hard time. They have to pay taxes and earn less. Xiao Jing will naturally give less to the officials, and his income as an official will be less.
, there are too many things to do, and there are all kinds of assessments, so of course I don’t like it the most.
"Lord Feng, South Zhili is one of the most important provinces in the Ming Dynasty. It is also located in a prosperous land in the south of the Yangtze River and has the Yangtze River outlet. It is located at the strategic point between the north and the south. No matter in which aspect, South Zhili should
They all do not belong to Beizhili, and even surpass Beizhili."
"However, as the chief envoy to Southern Zhili, you not only did nothing, you even openly opposed the policies formulated by the imperial court. You didn't know anything about it, and you tried to use some flowery rhetoric to cope with your duties."
"If you don't serve the common people as an official, you might as well go home and plant sweet potatoes!"
Liu Jin looked at Feng Shiyong and criticized him mercilessly. Such an official was of no use to the people at all. Perhaps the only advantage was that he was not a corrupt official, at least not in Nanzhili.
People's wealth is plundered here and they are greedy.
"You, you, Huangkou Xiao'er, I am a Jinshi of the Chenghua Dynasty. It's not up to you to decide whether I should be an official or not."
Hearing Liu Jin's words, Feng Shiyong was immediately furious and pointed at Liu Jin and said.
When everyone saw this, they immediately became energetic. This wonderful debriefing meeting suddenly became like this. Many officials were waiting to see Liu Jin look bad. After all, there were many officials who had the same idea as Feng Shiyong.
There are too many, too many officials who feel that Liu Jin is just messing around and that the assessment system is all about tormenting people. After all, it is hard to pass the test of merit and become an official. Shouldn't he enjoy it comfortably?
Why are we bothering with these things, and this taxation? What good will it do to us if there are more taxes? If there are more taxes, businessmen will not give us more Xiao Jing. With just that little salary, everyone will want it.
Drink the northwest wind.
Well now, someone finally stood up and confronted Liu Jin. What do you, Liu Jin, do?