In front of Liu's house, there was a sudden knock on the door.
When the servant saw it, he looked shocked and hurriedly called for the butler.
Immediately, the sound of hurried footsteps woke up Liu Yong, the elderly chief minister of the Ming Dynasty.
"Master, someone is coming from the palace and we are very anxious!"
"Quickly, serve me and dress me!"
Liu Yong was drowsy with sleep, but suddenly he woke up.
He glanced out the window, the moon was about to set, and looked at the chiming clock by candlelight. It was only a little over four o'clock.
It's only a short time before dawn. What happened that makes the emperor unable to wait for this little time?
With a solemn expression on his face, he quickly put on his shoes and official robe, and couldn't wait to come to the living room and meet the little eunuch who was delivering the message.
"Yuan Fu, His Majesty is eager to invite you to the palace!" The eunuch spoke quickly and urgently.
"Yes, you lead the way!" Liu Yong nodded, took the opportunity to rinse his mouth, wiped his face with a wet towel, turned around and left.
When he drove into the palace in a carriage, he met several cabinet colleagues at the city gate.
Secondary assistant Wang Jie, group assistants Sun Shiyi and Dong Hao followed closely behind.
The four of them walked so quickly that they didn't even have time to speak.
Entering the Qianqing Palace, the four people met the current Emperor Sude.
The sixty-year-old Emperor Side has been in power for nearly fifty years and has great power.
But at this time, his face was filled with solemnity.
Several pavilion elders knelt down in fear and fear: "I'm going to pay homage to Your Majesty!"
"Get up!"
Only then did Emperor Sude come to his senses: "The news from Europe is that France's rebellion is becoming increasingly rampant. Not only is it insufficient to establish a constitution, but it has also announced the establishment of a so-called republic and deposed the king and nobles."
"Your Majesty, is it like the republican government in the Western Zhou Dynasty?"
Liu Yong raised his head and asked softly.
The so-called republican governance refers to the period during the reign of King Li of the Western Zhou Dynasty, when the people of the country rioted, drove away King Li, summoned the Duke, and jointly governed the country until King Xuan succeeded to the throne.
Of course, it also refers to Gong Gonghe, who performed the duties of the emperor on his behalf.
But no matter what, it is a disobedient and sinful act.
Emperor Side nodded slowly, showing a slightly angry look: "Yes, a group of gangsters did evil. Not only did they drive away the King of France, but they also executed him, took charge of the country's affairs on their own, and imitated the American country."
"What a bunch of bastards..."
Facing the emperor's curse, several people remained silent.
There have been many dynasty changes in Chinese history, so it is not uncommon to execute the previous royal family.
But such a disgraceful person deposing the monarch is really shocking.
Without the emperor, who will protect the wealth of these ministers? Who will protect Confucianism?
This is more worrying than the founding of the United States.
When the United States rebelled, the imperial court even asked several North American vassal states to send troops to support the British suppression, but they gave up due to the long distance and the French obstruction in Louisiana.
Emperor Sude came to the throne at the age of ten, and the powerful ministers and harem jointly took power, which left a profound mark on the emperor.
Everyone in the civil and military circles of the dynasty did not know that the emperor was full of suspicion and hated the arbitrary ministers most. Even the harem was shared by two concubines after the queen died of illness.
None of the chief ministers in the cabinet has served for more than five years.
Now that he suddenly heard that the French people committed regicide after being disobedient, it was difficult not to touch his sensitive heart.
"Let the European missions in the Netherlands contribute money to support the anti-French alliance. Don't be vague!"
When Liu Yong heard this, he couldn't help but frown, and then whispered: "Your Majesty, the imperial court's budget is probably not enough..."
Emperor Sude's eyes immediately became sharp: "No money? Then continue to reduce the silver content."
Liu Yong sighed and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, if the silver yuan falls again, I'm afraid the double-column money will not be able to stop it!"
The so-called double-column money refers to the Spanish silver dollar, which contains about 90% silver. It is very popular among the people, but the court has always banned it.
There is no way, who made the court's money worthless?
As the Xuanwu Dynasty reached its peak, the imperial court inevitably faced a decline, although this trend was slow.
In terms of finance, tax revenue hovers around the figure of 200 million and will not move.
This number seems huge, but the silver content of silver coins has increased from 90% in the early years of Shaowu to 80% today.
If calculated in terms of silver, it is only equivalent to 170 million during the Shaowu period.
Coupled with the continuous input of silver and gold, silver continues to depreciate, and one stone of rice requires two silver yuan.
The huge bureaucracy, the army, and various relief and maintenance have allowed the Ming Dynasty, which has been financially sound for more than a hundred years, to usher in a period of food shortages and follow the example of Europe in issuing bonds.
Bonds, in everyone's opinion, are just a matter of time and space.
"What do you propose?"
"Your Majesty, you can allocate some from the internal funds..."
Emperor Side immediately became furious: "Why, it's not enough for you to control the court's money and food, but you still have to put your hands in my trouser pockets?"
“If we don’t have enough money, just keep issuing bonds!”
After saying this, the emperor waved his hand, and the few people could only retreat.
Returning to the cabinet, Liu Yong revealed to several colleagues:
"Now Europe has become a mess because of this so-called anti-French alliance. Several things we export have dropped a lot..."
Wang Jie echoed: "I heard that the customs tax has been reduced by 30%. No wonder Your Majesty is like this!"
Sun Shiyi sighed: "It's not just Europe."
As he spoke, his voice lowered a little: "The Nanyang vassal kingdoms are getting up one by one. They are just like us, and the things they sell are also cheap..."
Liu Yong controls the household, finance, and people departments, and is naturally sensitive to money and food. He nodded and said: "If this continues, the locals will make less money, but we cannot let them do whatever they want."
"Mr. Wang Ge, the Governor of Nanyang needs to do something good!"
Wang Jie nodded in agreement.
At this time, Sun Shiyi glanced at the palace and whispered: "As far as I know, the customs can collect 50 million a year!"
"More than that!" Dong Hao said hurriedly: "Inland river checkpoints can collect 10 to 20 million a year, and the customs is at least three times that."
Liu Yong frowned and said hurriedly: "Don't talk nonsense. Customs is a matter of the inner court. It is not our turn to intervene. This matter ends here."
"This money can't be reduced any more, so the court should issue a batch of bonds!"
Several people discussed it and decided to issue another 30 million bonds with an annual interest rate of two and a half percent.
"I should be able to have more money this year!" Liu Yong breathed a sigh of relief.
As the representative of the civil servants and the defender of the system, Liu Yong was in control of money and food, so he finally felt more at ease.
Unexpectedly, Sun Shiyi, the second assistant, said seriously: "Yuanfu, when will it end if you are like this?"
"In my opinion, the imperial court must expand its financial resources, otherwise it will dry up sooner or later!"
Everyone here is smart, so they naturally understand what he means.
Customs is now the first tax of the Ming Dynasty, no less than a pool of spring water during drought years, saving both emergency and life.
But in the era of imperial power, who dares to violate imperial power?
Liu Yong closed his eyes and shook his head slightly: "It's not time yet..."
"wait--"
Second Assistant Wang Jie nodded.
Sun Shiyi and Dong Hao suddenly fell silent.
The wait here is that the financial pressure is becoming increasingly obvious, which will force the government and the opposition to reach a consensus and reach into the customs.
If the army has no pay and the officials have no salary, will the emperor ignore it?
Sooner or later the internal funds will come out.
Another point is the current emperor.
After fifty years of imperial rule, Emperor Side was only sixty years old, and he had already surpassed Emperor Shizu, and his body could no longer bear it.
But today's prince is different from the jealous and sensitive Emperor Sude. He is more tolerant and aware of the overall situation.
It is far easier to convince the prince who will be the emperor in the future than the current emperor.
Sun Shiyi had to admire Liu Yong, this first assistant was worthy of his name.
"I'm old, I still have to rely on you for this matter!"
Seeing that several people understood, Liu Yong chuckled.
ps: A new book will be released tomorrow, Ming 1860, new and old fans come quickly
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Provide you with a reading experience with no wrong chapters and no out-of-order chapters. The first release of this book??????????.??????