Chapter 108 Re-establishing the Municipal Shipping Division
After complaining again, Zhu Yixi was too lazy to care about the survival of such a small country, and just said the last sentence:
"The late emperor has passed away and the Ming Dynasty has been established. It is time to replace him with Shaowu."
"Foreign ministers should be self-conscious."
The man achieved his goal and left respectfully.
He was careful and careful along the way and moved carefully to reach the Ministry of Rites.
After returning to their own house, several people breathed a sigh of relief.
The leader has a square face, a long beard, rosy eyes, and a high nose. He has a serious official face.
"Judgment——"
Several people in the courtyard hurriedly bowed their hands and bowed with great respect.
Since Li Chenggui established the Joseon Dynasty, he has always adhered to the principle of great things, whether it is etiquette or clothing, which is the same as that of the Ming Dynasty but different.
For example, the King of Joseon can only wear the robe of a prince, and the regulations of the royal palace can only be at the level of royal titles, with honorific titles such as His Highness, Lord, and the Crown Prince as Crown Prince, etc.
For example, the Six Bubu, or Liucao in North Korea, the Minister of Justice was the judge, and the Shenzhen judge they called was equivalent to Zuo Shilang, the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites.
"When you go out, don't ask for too many gifts."
Wang Yongzhen stroked his beard and asked: "Have you gained anything from wandering around Nanjing these days?"
"Reporting back to the judge, my subordinates have been walking around the streets in the past few days. Nanjing is worthy of being the capital city. It has all kinds of treasures. Food and cloth are relatively cheap. It is obvious that the war has moved away from the south of the Yangtze River."
One person cupped his hands and said.
"My subordinates also sent people to inquire. Emperor Shaowu made great military achievements and the whole south is generally peaceful. It is possible to have a Northern and Southern Dynasty."
"It's still unknown!"
Wang Yongzhen sighed and frowned: "The slave establishment is strong, the army is arrogant, Nanjing was destroyed last year, and even Emperor Hongguang was kidnapped. Can Nanjing still be safe?"
Although the Ming Dynasty re-established Korea, in order to preserve the country and the country, Korea was still a loyal vassal state of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and would never dare to betray.
Physical submission and spiritual rebellion make North Korea particularly entangled.
Therefore, even Emperor Hongguang was timid and did not dare to admit it.
"As a judge, the slave establishment is powerful, so we must be cautious!"
"The Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette. How can we obey the barbarians and reject the Celestial Empire?"
In an instant, the two big men began to argue.
Wang Yongzhen had a headache.
Since surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, subject to the threat of force from the Manchu Qing Dynasty, two forces have formed in North Korea.
One is the large-scale Shiming sect, and the other is the realistic Shiqing sect.
"That's it!"
Wang Yongzhen shook his head and said: "This kind of important matter should be left to His Highness to consider!"
After waving his hands, the group of people dispersed.
However, the fact that Wang Yongzhen came to Nanjing naturally represented the opinions of the Shiming faction and thought wholeheartedly about the Ming Dynasty.
"We still need to have a good relationship with the current emperor."
He thought about it and couldn't help but think: "From what I see, the current harem is very thin, but we can search for beautiful women in the country. If we have children, I am afraid it will be of great benefit to our country."
…
After meeting the Koreans for the first time, Zhu Yixi felt a little bored.
Nowadays, North Korea is poor and weak, which does not help Ming Dynasty at all. It is just for the pleasure of some heavenly kingdoms. What does this mean to him?
I picked up my pen and started writing, and six big characters appeared on my desk:
Corruption, finance, military.
He looked at it for a long time and then said: "Let Yan Chongxin come to see me."
"Yes!" The young eunuch on the side responded quickly.
After a while, Yan Chongxin, who came in a hurry, appeared in front of the emperor.
"Come and take a look, do these words have a profound meaning?"
The emperor waved and said.
Yan Chongxin was a little confused, but he still moved forward obediently and looked at these six characters:
"Your Majesty's words are so unique that I admire you greatly!"
"I'm not here to flatter you." Zhu Yixi laughed and scolded: "Take a good look."
"Yes!" Yan Chongxin lowered his head and began to think about it.
"Your Majesty, you mean that corruption is the biggest drawback of our country?"
His eyes are bright, his words are clear and decisive.
"That's what it means!"
The emperor showed a smile, then shook his head and said:
"This is just the first layer, it's still a little shallow."
As he spoke, the emperor couldn't help but pace, with Yan Chongxin following closely behind him.
Walking in the empty palace, Zhu Yixi could not help but whisper:
"The reason why Beijing was destroyed was due to insufficient troops and a weak army. Why was the army weak? It was because of insufficient taxation that the soldiers went to war hungry."
"The reason for the uneven taxation lies in the officials forcing the people to rebel. The root cause of this lies in the corruption of officials."
"So to govern the country, we must refresh the administration of officials, starting with governing people."
Yan Chongxin nodded seriously, admitting that this was very reasonable.
However, he is only responsible for the country's taxation and has no involvement in reforming the civil service.
Seeing the helpless expression on the latter's face, Zhu Yixi smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and said: "This matter does not need to be done step by step. We don't have that much time."
"What does your Majesty mean?"
Yan Chongxin was completely confused. The emperor's thoughts were really difficult to understand.
"Start anew!"
Looking at the cloudless sky, the emperor thought to himself.
"I'm sorry for my stupidity!" Yan Chongxin said helplessly.
"The vast Jiangnan has the largest number of commodities and merchants in the world."
The emperor didn't take it seriously and continued to talk about his previous inspiration:
"I have discovered that there are many workshops in Nanjing, with many weaving machines and weavers, scattered in private houses. The business they run, and the satin and gauze they make, are sold all over the country, and they are very profitable."
"However, can the court collect taxes just because they are huddled in private houses?"
"We can only go to the silk shop to collect it," Yan Chongxin said helplessly.
"So, I plan to formally establish the Commercial Taxation Department under the Ministry of Household Affairs, and include the Transshipment Department to focus on commercial taxation."
The emperor said slightly excitedly.
"In addition, I will set aside several thousand acres of land for you in Pukou to build a factory area, and strive to include more than 70% of the entire Nanjing's silk and satin factories."
"But, Your Highness, those businessmen are very smart and will never relocate easily."
Yan Chongxin felt that the emperor was having a whim.
Hiding in private houses, no one from the yamen can find him, so naturally he cannot collect taxes.
And once it is under the eyes of the government, how can it be possible to evade taxes? Which businessman is such an idiot?
"Are you me? I'm just talking on paper and making whims?"
The emperor asked with a smile.
"Your Majesty clearly sees thousands of miles, but the humble ministers have only limited knowledge and cannot fully understand it."
Yan Chongxin shook his head like a rattle and rejected this statement directly.
"You don't understand the pain of doing business!"
The emperor said calmly: "Although I can hide in private houses, there will be a lot of extortion involved."
"So, in this area, I want to achieve zero corruption. This is something you have to supervise. Only in this way can we attract people."
"In addition, I am determined to establish a municipal shipping department in Pukou Port——"