Chapter five hundred and eighty seventh surplus grain
The excitement and happiness were all for the adults, so the two children naturally couldn't bear the criticism of this group of strangers surrounding them, and soon started to cry loudly. They had no choice but to be carried to the Huagai Palace and put into the arms of the wet nurse.
After the children left, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao sat down. Several court officials smacked their lips unwillingly. They felt that the literary talent they had accumulated through decades of hard study had not been fully displayed. Why were the two grandsons taken away so quickly?
Already.
Zhu Yuanzhang set up the table and said, "Several beloved ministers from Zhongshu Province are here. This is rare. What are you reporting?"
Zhu Biao also cast a curious look. The people who came this time were basically officials promoted by Hu Weiyong. Although the promotion and appointment of officials in Beijing came from the emperor, after all, Hu Weiyong was the prime minister of the dynasty, so he still had some dignity.
Yes, the emperor usually approved of the people he recommended.
This may seem like forming a clique for personal gain, but it is actually an unavoidable thing in the officialdom. No matter what position you hold, if your subordinates do not have confidants who can be trusted to do anything, it will be difficult to do anything. This is true for prime ministers and county magistrates.
Hu Weiyong was the first to speak: "Zhongshu Sheng upholds the will of the emperor and is in charge of secrets. It was the talented ministers and others who sorted out the government decrees for the entire year of last year. Some issues that were shelved at that time need to be reported to the Holy One again, and I respectfully request the Holy Heart to rule. Therefore,
The ministers and others have come together to confront you."
There are countless national government affairs that the imperial court needs to deal with every day, and most of them are resolved as soon as possible, but there will always be some that are controversial or limited by the current situation. If the situation is not too urgent, then they will be shelved until later.
deal with.
Last year, the imperial court was surrounded by troops on all sides, natural disasters occurred frequently at home, and the national treasury was empty and it was difficult to collect taxes. Therefore, there were many affairs that were put on hold. These are all preserved in the Zhongshu Province.
This year's situation is still good. The emperor also said at the New Year's Day meeting that the imperial court will focus on recuperation this year and will not take the initiative to send troops to foreign countries. Therefore, the Zhongshu Province and the Ministry of Household Affairs made an accounting and even if a part of the budget is set aside for natural disasters and man-made disasters, the imperial court unexpectedly
There is still some surplus food, which is the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Zhu Yuanzhang was also happy when he heard this: "Ask the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs if he has transferred it. Is it rare that he has some surplus grain and doesn't he just hide it in the Treasury of the Ministry of Households and wait for the debt to be repaid?"
Zhongshu Zuocheng Chen Ning laughed and said: "When I was doing the accounting with the Ministry of Household Affairs, I was also worried that Guo Shangshu would hide it. After all, the Ministry of Households owes several major families in the south of the Yangtze River more than one million shi of grain, but I didn't expect that Guo Shangshu would
Very calm."
Zhongshu Zhengzheng looked at Zhu Biao and cupped his hands and said, "Thanks to Your Highness, otherwise I would be still at the Ministry of Revenue listening to Guo Shangshu crying about poverty at the top of his lungs at this moment?"
Zhongshu Pingzhang's political officer Zhao Yannian stroked his beard and shook his head: "Guo Shangshu really doesn't let go of eagles when he sees rabbits. He clearly has the guarantee from His Highness the Crown Prince, but at the end of the day, he still asks me to wait for the guarantee. If there are changes, Zhongshu will find a way to make up for it."
gap."
Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy. It can be seen that he was extremely satisfied with the Minister of the Ministry of Finance he appointed. What he wanted was the energy to not suffer and be stingy. How poor we are in the Ming Dynasty. How can we still live with the Minister of the Ministry of Finance who spends money lavishly?
!
"Biao'er, Zhao Aiqing is worried that you will default on your debt. Do you really have to bear all the food that the court owes?"
Zhao Yannian hurriedly apologized: "I must not dare to have such an intention. Your Majesty, please bypass me, otherwise I will not have the honor to go to the East Palace to meet His Highness the Crown Prince."
The atmosphere in the palace is still very good. In fact, it is mainly because the emperor is in a good mood. If the ministers are not trembling and fearful, they will naturally cooperate and everything will be fine.
Zhu Biao stood up and responded: "We already have an idea. In fact, it is a cliché. It was also discussed at the court meeting last year. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we have adopted a blockade attitude towards all parties. Foreign exchanges and trade are restricted, and commerce and production are not prosperous.
It’s hard to ignore, not to mention that it was like the situation in the Yuan Dynasty or even inferior to the situation in the Southern Song Dynasty.”
"All of you, my beloved ministers, are capable of governing the country. You should know that merchants have low business, but just like running water, goods can be exchanged. The Ming Dynasty's blockade on foreign trade is due to Japanese pirates, but a considerable part of it is due to the national policy at the time of the founding of the country. The current situation
It’s time to change for the better.”
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent and just looked at the expressions of the people below. Zhongshu Zuocheng Chen Ning muttered: "Of course, trade is beneficial to the country, and ministers and others are aware of it, but I don't know whether the current situation is appropriate. Although our Ming Dynasty is different from that of the founding of the Ming Dynasty,
It is derelict and waiting to be revitalized, but in fact there is still some emptiness in the foundation.”
Hu Weiyong also said: "I have read the records left by the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, there were fifty or sixty countries with which money was exchanged, and in the Yuan Dynasty, there were as many as more than 140 countries. All kinds of barbarians came with the ships.
It's a grand occasion, but barbarians are barbarians after all. They are vulgar and extremely good at spreading ghosts and evil cults in our Central Plains and inducing the people to join..."
"I agree with what Prime Minister Hu said. Maritime trade seems to be unlimited, but inside it is only empty. I believe that the foundation of our Ming Dynasty lies in agriculture. If mass production is enough for the world to be safe, there is no need to deal with barbarians."
As Zhu Biao expected, the officials wanted stability and did not want to suffer setbacks in their lives as they grew increasingly prosperous. In fact, they were mainly afraid of taking the blame. The Crown Prince would be protected no matter what he did, and if anything went wrong, the sword would still have to be dealt with by ministers like them.
Beheaded because you failed to fulfill your duty of admonishing your lord.
Moreover, Zhu Biao also saw that his father was also worried. Hu Weiyong was actually on to the point. Unlike the Song Dynasty, which was dominated by commodity trade, the majority of foreigners in the Yuan Dynasty had changed to missionaries of various religions. Lao Zhu was right
The sect is still very resistant because he knows how much influence religion can have on poor people.
In the five years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have been rebellions every year, and they were basically instigated by them, but they killed them incessantly. Naturally, he did not want another group of demagogues to appear in the Ming Dynasty.
Several important ministers in the court immediately regretted what they said. They were so careless. How could no one support His Highness? It really shouldn't have happened!
Zhao Yannian was the last one to speak. At this time, he coughed quickly, as if he had not finished what he just said, but was just stuck: "Although he is a little anxious, what your Highness said is very reasonable. Although the Japanese pirates have not been completely eliminated, they are still
It can no longer make any big waves, I thought..."
Soon, Zhu Biao was completely excluded, and several officials from the Zhongshu Provincial People's Government began to argue with each other. In particular, Zhao Yannian, the Pingzhang political official who stood on Zhu Biao's side, was simply a literary star.
Come down to earth and show your holiness.
The pros and cons, as well as the hidden dangers of great benefits, have been thoroughly explained. No one who can stand in this hall is simple, and his view of the problem will never be superficial, let alone just to suppress businessmen.
Who are businessmen? Although these few are careful in front of the Zhu family and his son, the one outside can shake up the officialdom of a state without just stamping his feet. He really wants to target the so-called wealthy businessmen how he wants to.
.
Zhu Biao actually knew that it was too early to launch a large-scale sea trade at this time. The purpose of this time was to see the attitude of the upper-level officials of the imperial court towards this matter. How could a mere million stones of grain be spent so much trouble?
Whether it was the tea and horse trade or purchasing from Southeast Asian countries, the grain arrears could be replenished before the agreed deadline. This was a matter of trust for the court. How could Zhu Biao rely on this extremely risky maritime trade?
The reaction of the officials was as expected by Zhu Biao. Although most of them were unfavorable, they actually wanted to refuse and welcome. They were just unsure of the emperor's thoughts and worried that the prince would take the blame if something big happened.
It is an honor to shoulder some of the blame for the prince. If you endure it, you will have a chance to turn over sooner or later. But there are some that cannot be turned over because a dead person does not need to turn over.
What's more, they have reached this point, and there is really no room for improvement in the future. Naturally, they want stability first, so as not to harm the whole family.
Zhao Yannian stood up just so that Zhu Biao could retreat naturally. There is no need for a monarch to end up arguing with his ministers. There is no point in winning. If he loses, everyone has to kowtow and apologize.
Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted their argument: "You go down and discuss these with the six yamen, and don't quarrel here."
Naturally, everyone followed the good example and bowed neatly and said: "I have behaved inappropriately before you, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
After that, as if nothing had happened just now, he naturally started talking about the government affairs left over from last year. In fact, most of them can be solved by the court allocating food funds. It is naturally easier to deal with the surplus food now.
After everyone said goodbye to the emperor and prince's luggage, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "It's good now, the treasury is clean again."
Zhu Biao smiled and said: "It's not that there is still some left. It can be said that Zhao Yannian specially saved it for his father to expand the palace."
Zhu Yuanzhang hummed: "The civil servants have come to search around. The military officers of the Governor's Mansion can still calm down. Just wait. In less than an hour, they will come to us and cry for help."