It has just arrived in October, and the cold wind in Beijing is already whistling, and yellow sand has begun to drift all over the city, mixed with fallen leaves, not to mention the long winter.
Pedestrians were in a hurry for fear of eating a mouth full of sand. The poor people couldn't wait to come to the pawn shop, empty their pockets and redeem their winter cotton-padded jackets. The rich people also rode in carriages and walked in a hurry.
No matter how clean the streets are, it doesn't help, leaving only ruts.
For people with a small fortune, cotton-padded jackets from the south are the warmest, and they are very happy to go to teahouses and restaurants, listen to books and watch plays.
Due to the weather conditions, even the imperial palace could not escape. Yellow sand was everywhere, making it look like a western scene.
Seeing this, Zhu Yixi's remaining good impression of the Forbidden City suddenly disappeared, and there was only disgust in his eyes.
The three cabinet ministers sat in a circle, feeling the warmth of the floor, taking off their wool-lined clothes, and began to discuss the situation sincerely.
"Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste."
Yan Chongxin was the youngest in terms of seniority and age. Seeing the two of them acting calmly, he could only speak wisely:
"The new year is approaching, and the six yamen are preparing for next year's war in Yunnan. Although the war is next year, the preparations alone will require more than one million yuan in money and food, which has exceeded the budget."
A budget is to calculate next year's expenses based on last year, which means living within your means.
The annual tax amount is collected based on expenses, which is within the means. The most representative ones are the Tang and Song dynasties.
Therefore, in the Tang and Song dynasties, money was never a factor in life. If the money was not enough, taxes would be increased!
I'm going too far, anyway, just for these preparations, the money and food he consumed has exceeded the budget of each department, and if he continues, he will have to use the small treasury.
“Didn’t Changlu Salt Farm implement a salt voting system?”
The emperor knew this very well and said calmly: "We collected 800,000 yuan this year. Isn't this enough to prepare?"
"Your Majesty, because the Lu Military Department went to the Guanning Defense Line, the Military Department has already invested the surplus there..."
Zhao Shu was in charge of the household department and could only explain.
"As for the customs, it has increased a lot this year..."
The emperor said casually.
But halfway through, he realized that the customs was already part of the internal funds.
"The Ministry of Revenue has nothing to do, but the cabinet has no ideas? You have to rely on me for everything. Am I a god?"
After Qian Lv ran out of skills, Zhu Yixi directly resorted to the blame-shifting tactic. He looked at the three of them with a look of disappointment in his eyes.
The three of them looked at each other, and Zhao Shu could only speak: "The Ministry of Household Affairs has a large amount of grain. The official salary can be converted into grain. In two to three months, you can get half a million yuan of silver."
Since the silver dollar was used to calculate salary, the court became much more convenient, and officials also liked this currency.
However, conversion has been deeply rooted in people's hearts for three hundred years during the Ming Dynasty. As long as the money is not enough, grain is used to make up for it, which can just solve the inventory.
"I can only suffer once and suffer all officials."
When the emperor heard this, he couldn't help but sigh, how could it be a joke in other people's ears?
Originally, the price of grain for the autumn harvest had fallen sharply, but now they have to release grain in exchange for silver. Doesn’t this make grain prices fall again?
Who would be happy if the food shrinks as soon as it is received?
The three people were helpless. They were also victims, but for the sake of Ming Dynasty, they had to do this.
"Wait, food!"
Suddenly, the emperor thought of something, his eyes were extremely bright, and his words changed directly:
"It's hard for court officials to live in the capital, so how can we let them suffer again?"
The three members of the cabinet were stunned, some of them unable to react.
"Your Majesty is wise, this is the blessing of the imperial court."
Zhao Shu tactfully reminded: "I think all the officials will be grateful in their hearts to help the court overcome this difficulty."
"It will be fine after the New Year."
"No, I have my own idea."
Zhu Yixi became interested. He felt that he had to give it a try. It didn't matter even if he was wrong.
"How much grain is left in the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
He heard the message directly to Zhao Shoufu, who was as gentle as jade.
Zhao Shu was stunned, of course he understood that what the emperor was talking about was summer grain, or last year's old grain, not the new grain that had just been put into the warehouse.
"About three million stones."
"It's enough to distribute grain to the court officials, and it can also be used to stockpile and make room for new grain."
"Three million stones, three million stones, that's enough, that's enough——"
Suddenly, the emperor began to murmur, looked at the three people with interest, and said loudly: "This time, you must help me no matter what..."
After saying this, he began to speak in a low voice.
In a blink of an eye, it was the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, the day when the imperial court issued salaries.
The middle and lower-level officials in the capital got up early today, led their donkeys and horses, and hurriedly came to the Department of Cleaning and Officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs to prepare for receiving food.
"What the hell is this!"
Zhou Wei shook his head. As the clerk of the Ministry of Rites, there were only nine-rank officials. He led the old donkey that his family was riding, and his son also borrowed a donkey. The two of them moved step by step to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
It's hard to please relax, but it's going to be troublesome again.
"Dad, this time we are in the capital, and it is much stronger than before."
The 20-year-old son disagreed. He led the donkey and looked at my helpless expression. He was still a little optimistic:
"During the Chongzhen Dynasty, you had to go to Tongzhou to get Lumi, which was a long and tiring journey of hundreds of miles."
"Now as long as we get food in the capital, I don't know how much better it will be."
"You kid knows nothing!"
Zhou Wei couldn't help but scolded: "There is a rule in the officialdom. If something can be done, it will definitely happen in the future, and more and more, it will become a rule."
"Finally, it can be done with just one bag. Now we need a donkey cart, but in the future we may have to break our legs."
Speaking of this, he sighed: "If you receive food, you will lose a lot of money. This year is going to be difficult!"
"Ah?" The son was shocked: "It's okay to run once in a while, but if it's a monthly trip, who can eat it?"
"The old donkey can't bear it! This is the only animal in my family."
"Bah, you only care about the donkey and not your father?" Zhou Wei spat and couldn't help but kick him.
What an unfilial son.
Even though a ninth-grade official can only get a few dozen dan of grain, the two donkeys have to work several times. At his age, he has to go back and forth, which is unbearable.
"Hey, isn't this why you are always strong, dad?"
"Huh, that's a good idiom. Why can't you succeed in studying? You just have to dawdle!"
One was scolded, the other spat, and soon they came to the household department.
I saw that there were very few people here, and it seemed more like the Ministry of Rites than the Ministry of Husbandry.
"Dad, are we in the wrong place?"
"No, it's Hubu."
Zhou Wei shook his head and strode forward.
When we came to the courtyard, we couldn't see any food.
"This man, didn't you say you were here to receive food? Why don't you see a grain of rice?"
Seeing that the person in front of him was also a clerk, Zhou Wei raised his hand and asked.
"Hey, where is the grain warehouse in Tongzhou? No matter how bad it is, it's still in the warehouse in Tianjin. How can there be such a big land to store grain in Beijing?"
The man smiled.
"Ah? Then why did you ask me to wait here?" Zhou Wei was stunned, in disbelief.