"Hua Ma! Give me money!"
In the front guard square of the government army, when Zhu Gaoxu threw down two flower tiles, he immediately shouted to the people around him for money.
Lin Wuliu and the other four people happily gave the money when they saw this. They didn't feel sad because they knew that the money would be back in their hands within a few rounds.
Without him, it’s just that Zhu Gaoxu’s poker luck is so bad. After playing more than 20 games all morning, he only won this game. He was a proper boy of good fortune.
His method of giving money made Lin Wuliu and the others think that Zhu Gaoxu was deliberately helping them. After all, even if they were members of the Twelve Guards Army, they could only get more than seven guans per year in exchange for their salary and grain.
These days, Zhu Gaoxu loses an average of twenty or thirty cents to each of them every day, which makes them have more meat and vegetables on the dining table at home these days.
Thinking of this, Lin Wuliu was embarrassed and said: "Your Highness, why don't you take a rest and have lunch before continuing to fight..."
"No!" Zhu Gaoxu raised his head like a gambler who lost his eyes and said: "I finally won a round. My luck has just returned. Except for the brothers on duty, no one else can leave."
After that, Zhu Gaoxu picked up the cards and started shuffling them, but as expected, he lost all the money he had won in just one game, causing him a toothache.
"Come again!"
Such a move made Zhu Yunwen feel nervous, and he quickly bowed: "Grandpa, my grandson just thinks that civil and military officials have the possibility of embezzling food. It's just that military attachés at the guard station have been exposed to food for a long time and have more opportunities, so they are more likely to be corrupt. "
He swallowed, and Yishiha next to him quickly handed over the tea he was holding.
"If you feel that some of these health stations are in trouble all year round and are wasting money and food, then you can abolish the health stations and set up prefectures and counties, cancel their military status and convert them to civilian status, re-measure and plan the local military farmland, and formulate the annual collection of The tax amount is enough.”
Of these 60 million shi, nominally more than 42 million shi can be used by the Ministry of Revenue. However, in fact, less than one-third of this batch of grain can be directly transferred by the Ministry of Revenue, and the remaining Two-thirds required Zhu Yuanzhang's nod, and they could only be called upon after the Fifth Army Governor's Office released them.
He also knew what he couldn't see, but what he wished he could see.
Seeing Zhu Yunwen going to do something, Zhu Yuanzhang also took the time to say to Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Jixi, and Zhu Shangbing:
"When you get to the place, you can tell the people to plant mulberry and jujube whenever there are gaps in the land, and not to waste the land."
"If you encounter a severe debt, you must not be stingy. You must open the palace treasury to help the people with food and clothing."
Fu Rang followed Fu Zhong's gaze and looked at his two nephews. He also had a complicated expression:
Zhu Yuanzhang did not pay attention to this little person in the palace, but walked around Wuying Hall, with many state affairs issues constantly flashing in his mind.
In the memorial, Ning Wang Zhu Quan explained the weather in Daning, and then said that the military households in the guard station had insufficient winter clothes and asked for five hundred thousand jins of cotton.
Zhu Yuanzhang himself had experienced famine, so he set up many granaries all over the world. The food in these granaries was enough to feed the people of the Ming Dynasty for a year. Every year, the old rice was released to the market and the new rice paid by the people was put into reserves. In the warehouse.
Even though this situation has ended for twenty-seven years, many of the remaining Mongolian and Yuan customs and habits in this land still give Zhu Yuanzhang himself a headache.
"Dad?" Fu Zhong and Fu Rang turned back one after another, seemingly still surprised when Fu Youde appeared, but Fu Youde breathed out and said:
For example, when Zhu Yuanzhang walked into the palace, he had just sat down when he received the memorial from the Metropolitan Procuratorate brought by Zhu Yunwen.
The content of the memorial is not complicated, but it involves too many things. It is no wonder that Zhu Gaochi did not dare to make the decision.
"Then make good use of them and check and balance the granary in a good place." Zhu Yuanzhang said unhurriedly, mentioning Zhu Gaoxu by the way:
Even for a strong man like him, he would occasionally want to take a few days off.
"This time, the food consumed on the road is not a small amount."
"Are you Korean or Jurchen?"
If two hundred Persian horses are used for breeding, thousands of hybrid war horses can be bred in about three or four years.
"Grandpa, my grandson thinks this memorial is a bit inappropriate, but it makes some sense. You see..."
This situation of mutual supervision between civil and military affairs was exactly what Zhu Yuanzhang wanted, and this situation also ensured that nearly two-thirds of the Ming Dynasty's finances were always in the hands of the emperor.
It can be said that the economic strength of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion is not much worse than that of the Ministry of Revenue.
There are 330 military bases in the world, which means that every year there are more than 20 million military camps with unused grain.
The food currently in the reserve warehouse, Changping warehouse, military household warehouse, and Shuici warehouse alone amounts to no less than 60 million dan.
Putting this food in the guardhouse naturally ensured the soldiers' rations and transportation problems, but it was also a huge waste for the court.
Putting down the tray, Yishiha stood back to his position, only looking at the palace from time to time, and occasionally at the gate of Wuying Palace.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that Zhu Yunwen wants to take this part of the finance back to the central government.
"Also, tell Prince Ning that in the future, I will inform him about things that are urgently needed in the army, such as cotton. Don't delay it until this time."
"Do you think I'm old..."
It's a pity that others spoke softly and could not help Zhu Gaoxu much.
Looking at Yi Shiha's appearance, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him directly about his origin. Hearing this, Yi Shiha also replied:
"Although the harvests in the fields are now more abundant than in previous years, the people are able to be self-sufficient, and the neighbors in the fields and countryside are safe, but it is a mistake to think that you can sit back and relax just like this."
Zhu Yunwen knew that the Ministry of Rites liked to beautify the contents of the tribute form, and with Zhu Gaoxu's reminder, even he felt that the tribute form contained something strange.
Yi Shiha followed closely and walked about a hundred steps with Zhu Yuanzhang before Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Wuying Hall.
Fu Youde looked at his two grandsons and said calmly: "You will be fine, don't worry."
After that, Zhu Jixi and Zhu Shangbing also approached Zhu Yuanzhang to solve their doubts with memorials that they could not handle.
After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the eunuch beside him: "I ordered the Ministry of Works to move Wen Tianxia Yousi to supervise the people to plant mulberry and jujube, and teach them how to plant it."
"You will all guard the four sides for the Ming Dynasty in the future. You must remember these words of mine and never forget about the people's livelihood."
"What Gao Xu said before is right. Those supervisory censors should run around in the local area, otherwise how can they fulfill their responsibilities? Besides..."
Without Zhu Gaoxu's reminder, Zhu Yuanzhang would have thought that this was a tribute list written by Timur after long admiration for the Ming Dynasty. However, after Zhu Gaoxu's reminder, he felt that this drop of the list was weird no matter how he looked at it.
Zhu Yuanzhang took it, took a sip, and placed it on the tray again. Only then did he pay attention to this eunuch with quick eyes and quick hands.
Sitting on the corridor outside the study, Fu Rang looked at Fu Youde who was writing in the study and couldn't help but sigh.
He looked towards the end of the corridor, where two six or seven-year-old children were chasing and playing.
After he left, Zhu Gaochi also stood up carefully and walked up to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen with a memorial.
"I am well aware of the hardships faced by the people, so I often urge the Ministry of Industry to repair water conservancy roads so that the people can have food and clothing."
The invasion of the Northern Han Dynasty completely ended a Han Dynasty, which was an unprecedented situation.
"father……"
Just thinking about the current situation in Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't relax and rest.
Under such a situation, the Tartar officials in Beiping, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places rebelled, and the chieftains in the southwest gathered to rebel. All kinds of difficult things made Zhu Yuanzhang exhausted.
"Not to mention how much fire is consumed on the way when the generals collect grain and transport it to the capital. However, if there is a local rebellion and they need to transport grain to the front, this will double the fire cost out of thin air."
"You absolutely cannot accept what is said in this memorial."
The "loose" governance of the Mongols allowed the local Mongol tycoons and Han landlords to become powerful. The Han people north of the Yangtze River either became herders or serfs, while those south of the Yangtze River gathered to become tenants of the powerful landlords. Mongolia Private soldiers of nobles.
They were the two children of Fu Zhong and Princess Shouchun. Zhu Yuanzhang sent them back to Fu Zhong as promised, which not only added a lot of life to Duke Ying's palace, but also eased Fu Zhong's anxiety a little.
Zhu Yuanzhang expressed his attitude, and then marked red with a red pen, signaling Zhu Yunwen to go and do it quickly.
"Your Majesty, the horses are the same. They are all tall Persian horses, and they are all stallions." The eunuch answered truthfully. This news made Zhu Yuanzhang less uneasy.
He waved his hand and motioned for Zhu Yunwen to return to his seat. Zhu Yunwen was still nervous at first, but when his grandfather's face darkened when he mentioned Zhu Gaoxu, he breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand and bowed before returning to his seat.
Even if they come to Zhu Yuanzhang to solve their doubts, they will bring their own opinions and suggestions, which saves Zhu Yuanzhang a lot of trouble.
Ever since they knew that Zhu Gaoxu had been banned, Fu Zhong and Fu Rang had become anxious. Although they knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would not do anything to Zhu Gaoxu, they could not help but worry about him.
Not only are there external and internal problems, but there are also conflicts within Lao Zhu's family that are difficult to resolve.
He thought he could make the emperor remember him by serving tea and water, but the emperor didn't say anything.
Seeing his appearance, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything, he just calmed down and continued to deal with the memorial.
In order to promote cotton, Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered to exempt and exempt farmers who grow cotton, so that more farmers began to grow cotton.
"Okay." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, but then asked again: "You are worried that the military attaché of the Guard will embezzle the Mo army's grain. Don't the people sent by the Six Ministries embezzle the Mo grain?"
"If the people are good at growing cotton, they will be exempted from taxes. I will tell you by the end of the year."
"As that boy said, I am indeed not the type to write military books."
Therefore, when Zhu Yunwen hurried back, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and told him to help his three brothers clear up their doubts, while he walked out of Wuying Hall to take a breath.
Fu Zhong, who was sitting next to him, heard a bit of melancholy from his mouth, but at the moment his mind was not only on Zhu Gaoxu, but also on a few other people.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and suddenly felt a little thirsty.
"Let me ask you..." Zhu Yuanzhang asked:
But while they were talking, Fu Youde, who was still in the study, came behind them without anyone noticing.
Before Fu Zhong and Fu Rang could speak, Fu Youde had already turned around and left, leaving only the distant silhouettes of his back to the two brothers.
Putting the tribute list aside, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the eunuch who sent the memorial: "Are the tribute horses sent by Timur the same as before?"
Compared to them, Fu Youde was older and more prudent. He didn't panic at all. He just sat in his study every day and polished his so-called polishing.
When he thought about the fate of such a person being banned, Yishiha felt a little uncomfortable.
For the local military attachés, they don’t care what rank you are as a civil servant. They only know that they are hereditary military households who are not allowed to eat the imperial rations. Without the instructions of the emperor and the Governor of the Fifth Army, they will never be able to use their reserves. Give a grain of rice from the warehouse to the civil servant.
"I still reserve 30% of the money for the local government and counties to use, how can I limit the military rations?"
Coincidentally, the eunuch on duty at the gate of Wuying Palace today was Yi Shiha. When he saw this, he followed him so that he could serve Zhu Yuanzhang.
Because the Mongols did not control the local area, although cotton was introduced to the inland at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, private cultivation was very small. It was not until Zhu Yuanzhang settled in the Central Plains that this cold-resistant crop was widely promoted.
Of course, these are not the granaries directly under the Ming Dynasty. The granaries directly under the Ming Dynasty are the military household warehouse of the guard station, the reserve warehouse that the military household of the guard station is responsible for guarding, and the fourteen water storage warehouses along the canal.
But while he was dealing with the memorial, the Fu brothers in Duke Ying's mansion were spinning in anxiety.
Five hundred thousand kilograms of cotton was very difficult for the Ming Dynasty, which had already distributed one million kilograms of cotton to northwest and Shanxi in the first half of the year. But no matter how difficult it was, Zhu Yuanzhang could not remain indifferent.
"Yeah..." Fu Zhong also sighed, the figure of Zhu Gaoxu becoming more and more clear in his mind.
"This..." Zhu Yunwen muttered: "It's just that the general's grain harvest is taken back to the household department and the six departments send people to supervise it. The grain does not need to be adjusted."
This memorial was written by the supervisory censor Chen Ying. In it, he wrote that the military grain crops were managed by the guards themselves, which was prone to corruption. Therefore, he suggested that the military grain crops be handed over to the Ministry of Households for unified management.
Although they are not as tall as pure Persian horses, after being mixed with the blood of Hequ horses, their endurance can be much stronger, making them extremely suitable for fighting.
And because the temperature in the early Ming Dynasty was lower than that in later generations, there were very few places where cotton could be grown in the Liaodong area of Beiping. Therefore, Liaodong, Daning and other places were extremely short of cold-resistant materials such as cotton.
Amidst Zhu Gaoxu's shouts, Lin Wuliu and others looked at each other.
"Don't forget, the Ministry of War and the Metropolitan Procuratorate can supervise military attachés' corruption of grain. But once the military grain crops belong to the Sixth Ministry, and the Sixth Ministry and the Metropolitan Procuratorate collude, who can tell you that the military grain grains are being robbed by corruption? "
As soon as he said these words, Fu Zhong and the two looked at each other.
Looking at the back of Zhu Yuanzhang walking into the palace, Yishiha stood blankly at the door of the palace, smiling bitterly in his heart: "For a little person like me, I'm afraid His Majesty will forget my name in a few days..."
"Humans, once they are full, they will forget about hunger; when they are dressed warmly, they will forget about the cold; when the world is at peace, they will forget about repairing their weapons; if this continues for a long time, once they encounter disaster, they will just be at a loss, like a fly without a head. .”
"Right now, there are rebellions in the local area, and the local guards say that they will send troops to quell the rebellion at any time."
Zhu Gaochi handed over the memorial, and Zhu Yuanzhang took it and read it.
"Grandpa Huang, this is the memorial written by Uncle Ning. My grandson dare not make the decision..."
"Hmm..." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly. Upon seeing this, Zhu Yunwen also sent the eunuch of Wuying Palace to the Ministry of Rites to get the tribute form and summoned the translator of the Siyi Pavilion.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not continue speaking. He seemed to realize that he had mentioned Zhu Gaoxu unconsciously, and his face instantly became much gloomier.
"This servant is the son of commander Wu Yun, Yi Shiha, a Haixi Jurchen..."
In the past, Zhu Yuanzhang might have been very happy about this kind of teaching, imparting knowledge and solving doubts, but after experiencing the cooperation between Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yuanzhang became a little impatient.
After all, he didn't pay attention to the little guy Yi Shiha. Such behavior also made Yi Shiha feel a little disappointed.
While smiling bitterly, it was easy to think of Zhu Gaoxu, who had always remembered his name.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the memorial and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If these two children are given to him to raise, he should be able to raise these two children very well," Fu Zhong couldn't help but daydream.
Just facing his thoughts, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and threw the memorial on the table:
It can be said that during the period when these two men were in charge of government, Zhu Yuanzhang could handle very few memorials every day, and they rarely took the initiative to come forward to ask Zhu Yuanzhang to clarify his doubts.
If we only rely on the cotton-padded clothes and quilts from previous years to keep out the cold, I'm afraid there will be frostbite and death in Daning this year.
The eunuch kowtowed in agreement, and then withdrew as Zhu Yuanzhang waved his sleeves.
"That kid should be out soon, should be soon..."
No matter how small the officials in the temple are, they can't get things done without money.
As Lao Zhu himself said just now, once people get used to comfort, they will hate those who are unfounded and worried.
In addition to prefectures and counties, Zhu Yuanzhang also asked people in rural towns to establish social warehouses and charity warehouses.
Since mid-August, the Tatars in the northwest have rebelled, the Jurchens in the northeast have been on the sidelines, and the Uliangha, Tatars, and Oara in the north have been relatively stable, but there is no telling when they will go south to thresh the valleys.
"Dad is safe..."
It’s just that the ideas of little people are extravagant hopes, but the ideas of big people can often be realized more smoothly.
Zhu Yuanzhang talked about the problem of local grain. In the current era of in-kind taxes, Zhu Yuanzhang himself did not believe in the remaining officials of the former Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, he divided the Ming Dynasty granary into different areas according to different levels and handed them over to different classes for management. .
"Your servant accepts the order..." The eunuch who accompanied him agreed upon seeing this. Zhu Gaochi and the other three also bowed to each other one after another and sang: "My grandson understands..."
When Zhu Yunwen saw this, he didn't dare to delay. After all, it was already the first day of September, and it would start snowing in Daning in more than half a month.
The only person who can make Fu Youde say this is Zhu Gaoxu, who has been constantly coming up with fantastic ideas in the past few months.
Among the prefectures and counties, Zhu Yuanzhang established Changpingcang and let the local yamen manage it.
"Well..." After hearing Yi Shiha's self-introduction, Zhu Yuanzhang thought about Wu Yun for a while, but seemed to be unable to remember him because of the passage of time. In the end, he just responded and continued walking forward.
"Fortunately, I have the blessing of my sister-in-law's blood. If anything happens to us, at least the Fu family will still have blood to pass on."
Zhu Yunwen has been in charge of politics for two and a half years, and has already accumulated experience and knows how to deal with it. Zhu Gaoxu has also figured out Lao Zhu's political ideas, and often makes modifications and expansions based on his ideas.
Exactly as Zhu Gaoxu predicted, Timur sent people to the court, and sent 200 horses as tribute, and delivered an extremely disgusting memorial.
Zhu Yuanzhang has a tough attitude, but after all, there is a shortage of horses at the moment, so his attitude is quite normal.
Fu Youde looked at the sky outside the corridor, with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.
"Earlier, Gao Xu had a conversation with Wei Guogong about the military camp's seed grains, and Gao Xu's words were very good."
"Also, write a letter to your younger brothers and tell them not to act out of anger. The DPRK still has favors for them to repay."
Zhu Yuanzhang felt very uncomfortable when he thought that the third child who once respected his elder brother was now openly fighting for the throne.
"Have people take good care of these two hundred horses. If one dies, let the chief officer of the Animal Husbandry Bureau accompany him and bury him!"
In contrast, Zhu Yuanzhang also picked up a memorial at the same time and frowned slightly.
In his opinion, it is really inappropriate for the Wei Station to be in charge of the army's grain. After all, the amount of grain in the army is not a small amount. A health station with 5,600 households can often stock up on tens of thousands of kilo of grain after the autumn harvest.
After a long time, he spoke to the two of them: "If something happens to me, don't give up on yourselves, just do your job in the court."
After the salute was over, Zhu Gaochi returned to his seat and sat down, lowering his head and continuing to process the memorial.
Fu Zhong looked at the back, hesitating to speak, but he didn't know what to say.
In this case, a supervisory censor Shi Shu suddenly appeared and wanted to hand over the management of the reserve warehouse to the Sixth Department. Zhu Yuanzhang was very restrained without killing anyone.
Five hundred thousand jins of cotton was no small sum in the early Ming Dynasty.
"What's more, don't forget that the guard station still holds the local food. If the granary of the guard station is handed over, wouldn't the military households below become beggars begging for food from others in the future?"
How come this is such a peaceful family, even before they leave?
"Let the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry make 160,000 pieces of cotton-padded clothes and 80,000 quilts. They must be delivered to Daning before it snows. We cannot let our officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty wear single clothes to guard the border in the north."
Although Lao Zhu also knew to be prepared, he still couldn't help but complain a little after his free time.
Standing next to him, Zhu Yunwen also reminded carefully: "Grandpa, how about the Ministry of Rites sends the original text of the tribute form and sends two officials from the Siyi Hall to come up and recite the original text?"
"If you take back the grain from the military garrison, what will happen if the garrison in the remote area encounters a rebellion and has no food to eat and no food for the expedition?"
Food is the root of Zhu Yuanzhang's contempt for everything.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunwen, and while meeting his eyes, he also told him earnestly: "There is no need to take back the military camp seed grain..."
Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's expression and found that there was nothing wrong before he tentatively expressed his opinion.
"You should step down first. If anyone comes up with this kind of memorial in the future, they will all be dismissed."
Perhaps, not only Fu Youde, but also he has accepted his fate...
It's a pity that ancient times are no better than later generations. Although cotton has been promoted by the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty for more than 20 years, its growth range is still in the Yangtze and Yellow River basins.
