"Whether it's Prince Gong or Prince Yi, I don't want him."
Zhu Yixi said seriously every word.
His eyes were full of determination.
Zhao Shu was startled, then calmed down, and said with a hint of worry: "It's the imperial court after all..."
"Fucking court."
When Zhu Yixi heard this, he said disdainfully: "If I don't admit it, he is not the imperial court, and Sichuan and Huguang provinces will not allow him to exist."
At this time, Zhao Shu was completely shocked and said dumbly: "Your Highness, these words are true, there is something -"
"It's really a bit treasonous, isn't it?"
Zhu Yixi took over his words and said with a hint of contempt: "The Nanjing court takes itself too seriously."
"It is really wishful thinking to try to blackmail me in name, or even demand Zuo Mengeng's release."
"Instead of focusing on controlling the four towns in Jiangbei, you actually want to deal with me, a pro-vassal clan."
Having said this, Zhu Yixi was quite angry.
Damn, it’s so disgusting to be so groveling to the outside world and to attack so hard internally.
Hearing this, Zhao Shu smiled bitterly and said: "Your Highness, after retaking Sichuan, in the eyes of the Nanjing court, your threat is greater than that of the four towns in Jiangbei."
After all, the four towns in Jiangbei are foreign generals, but he is the king of the clan, commanding two provinces, with the largest number of troops and the largest territory. Everyone is frightened when he looks at them.
"I can't control that much. Anyway, I don't want either of these royal titles."
Zhu Yixi waved her hand and said: "Tell Nanjing, if he doesn't give it, don't blame me for taking it."
Those who take things for themselves are self-reliant.
For example, Liu Bei, the King of Hanzhong, burned cloth and silk thousands of miles away and asked Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to collect and seal it in his dream.
Prestige depends on legal authority and strength.
At present, all the southern provinces legally recognize the Nanjing court, but once the Hanyang King of Sichuan and Huguang becomes independent, other provinces will take notice.
After all, several provinces in the south also had vassal kings.
Of course, it was also because the Nanjing court had the strongest legal authority. Historically, after the fall of the Hongguang court, Nanming was completely torn apart.
"What kind of king does Your Highness want?"
Zhao Shu naturally did not want the King of Hanyang to stand on his own, so he asked hurriedly.
He is like Cao Cao's Xun Yu, who is loyal to Zhu Yixi but also habitually identifies with the imperial court, trying to find a balance.
Of course, Zhu Yixi was different from Cao Cao. He was a genuine clan member. Once the two were chosen, Zhao Shu would choose him in the end.
"King He?"
This question confused him.
Good king titles, such as King of Qin, King of Yan, and King of Wu, are difficult to obtain. Zhu Yixi has no doubt that once he wants these, Nanjing will definitely break up.
At present, it is not time.
"Sir, what advice do you have?"
Zhu Yixi asked for advice.
"How is King Yu?"
Zhao Shu thought about it, his mind raced, and he finally came up with a good name.
After all, he was born in Juren and was knowledgeable and talented.
"He who travels to Henan, "Erya·Exegesis", is both safe and happy. "Mencius" says that when you travel to Henan, you will travel to the princes."
"However, "Shu Yu Gong" also says that Jinghe refers to Yuzhou and also refers to Zhongzhou."
"good!!"
When Zhu Yixi heard this, he laughed and said: "How knowledgeable sir is! This is the best of both worlds!"
King Yu, nominally refers to the King of Anle, but Yu also refers to Henan.
Get both, just look at the interpretation.
It was completely in line with the Confucian concept of moderation, and it also gave the Nanjing court face.
"As long as His Highness is satisfied."
Zhao Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.
Zhu Yixi touched the light beard on her chin and sighed: "We are facing a powerful enemy, so it would be nice if we could fight against it."
The most important problem was solved, and both of them relaxed.
Zhao Shu then reported in detail: "In the past few months, Xiangyang Prefecture, Yunyang Prefecture, Chengtian Prefecture, De'an Prefecture, Wuchang Prefecture, and Hanyang Prefecture have all completed inspections. The number of households under the jurisdiction of the Military and Political Division is about 400,000.
."
"We won't be able to collect taxes this autumn. We have to wait for next year's two taxes."
Zhu Yixi nodded slightly and said with emotion: "In Sichuan Province, there are about four million people in Dingkou, but including hermit households, there are about six to seven million people. In the half of Huguang Province, there are only 20 to 30% of that number."
Huguang's population has disappeared too quickly.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Below Dongting Lake, there are very few people participating in the war. There are still two to three million people."
Zhao Shu consoled him.
"If the tax revenue cannot be paid, is the Secretary of Military Affairs worried?"
"Hu Cao has received all the extravagant wealth in Sichuan, about five million taels of gold and silver, and one million taels of jewelry. In addition to replenishing the army, the biggest item is just to purchase food."
At this point, he saw that King Hanyang was a little worried, so he couldn't help but add: "However, the military settlements established by His Highness will be able to increase at least one million dan of grain after the autumn harvest. I believe there will be great relief in the future."
"In addition, the business tax is a surprise."
"Oh?" Zhu Yixi became interested when she heard about commercial taxes: "There should be a lot of taxes and duties!"
"Let Chief Yan do the talking!"
Zhao Shunshen stopped and smiled slightly.
He knows the dimensions very well, and knowing that the Transportation Department is a department that checks and balances the Military and Political Department, he will not talk too much.
Soon, Yan Chongxin came and happily reported:
"Your Highness, merchants from Lingnan and Jiangnan are coming in droves. The business tax last month has exceeded 200,000 taels."
However, he was not surprised to see King Hanyang, and only said lightly: "Oh!"
A burst of hot blood, pouring down the cold heart.
No wonder Zhu Yixi was calm. The salt tax was really astonishing. A mere well salt could provide four million taels a year.
If you add the tea tax, it will be more than one million, and it does not need to be handled by officials, which is much better than the commercial tax.
However, Zhu Yixi’s focus immediately shifted to Lingnan:
"There are quite a lot of red barbarians in Guangdong, and their business is huge. The Secretary of Military Affairs can pay attention to them."
"Besides, there are many skilled craftsmen in Macau. Well, we can hire one or two as appropriate. Mr. Wang is old after all."
"Obey!" Although Zhao Shu didn't understand, he completely remembered that this is the way to serve as a minister, and he was not the one running anyway.
Afterwards, Zhu Yixi discussed with the two people the government affairs accumulated during these periods.
For example, the governance model of Xiangyang Prefecture was expanded to Huguang.
Zhao Shu objected: "Your Highness, you must think twice before taking action."
The so-called Xiangyang Mansion model, that is, big government, is completely opposite to the small government of the Ming Dynasty.
The characteristic is that there are many managers, many officials, and high efficiency.
For example, the li and jia in the countryside and the square and Xiang in the city were changed from self-selected to yamen designated.
Moreover, it is included in the establishment (from the ninth grade) and the salary is paid.
The county government office has six offices, and the government government office has six departments, and the assistant officials are all included in the establishment.
Others, such as instructors, medical officers, yin and yang officers, monk officers in the Sengji Department, Taoist officials in the Taoist Department, etc., are all included in the ranks and paid salaries.
As a result, expenses skyrocketed.
In the past, the number of people in a county could only be seven or eight, but now it has expanded to two to three hundred.
When there are more officials, the court's control will naturally become stronger. One level will suppress the other, and the efficiency will be extremely high.
The price is that administrative costs increase twenty-fold.
"That is to say, to govern a government, one needs ten thousand taels per year?"