The mountain breeze drifted in through the window, blowing the curtains and bringing a little coolness.
A chill ran down Zhu Mou's spine and he was extremely panicked, but he forced himself to calm down and said, "I am ashamed of myself."
"Nothing to be ashamed of."
Zhu Yixi would casually say: "After all, the position of chief assistant is different from what it was a few decades ago. At that time, it was easy to talk about it, but now it needs to be fought for."
Such words made Zhu Mou's heart sink even more.
"By the way, how old are you?"
"Old minister, I'm fifty-six this year." Zhu Mou looked unwilling, and the smile on his face looked bitter no matter how you looked at it.
"Feng Xianzong has just reached his fifties, Du Yinxi has sixty-sixths of his sixties, and Yan Yingyuan has fours of his fifties. Although among the people it is the age of being a grandson, in officialdom it is at the peak of that year."
Zhu Yixi sighed, stopped talking to him, and sat down: "Until next year, you can become an official!"
Letting Zhu Mou be the chief assistant for a year, from beginning to end, is considered his intention.
The time is too short and it is too easy to hurt people's hearts.
Zhu Mou was shocked and knelt down: "Old minister, I understand."
At this time, he raised his head, his eyes full of frustration: "Your Majesty, all my faults are due to Feng Xianzong. This man has a vicious mind. He has been in the court for more than 20 years and has deep connections..."
"alright."
Zhu Yixi looked at him disappointedly.
At this point, he also wanted to unseat Feng Xianzong. It seemed that Zhu Mou changed the moment he became the chief minister.
A person who used to be broad-minded has now become narrow-minded and selfish, and is not responsible for anything.
Thinking of this, he felt a little regretful in his heart. Zhu Mou was not suitable to be the chief assistant at all. Forcibly promoting him had ruined him.
"Go on, guard these last few months, and start well and end well."
Zhu Mou had no choice but to retreat.
After he left, Zhu Yixi slumped down on the recliner, relaxing and letting his thoughts flow.
Although he didn't take it to heart what Zhu Mou had arranged, it was constantly echoing in his mind and he couldn't forget it.
If you think about it carefully, the reason is clear.
When Feng Xianzong was in Nanjing, he took up the post of Shangshu. He has been circulating among various ministries for twenty years, and then naturally entered the cabinet.
The network of relationships compiled over twenty years is extremely terrifying.
Although Zhu Mou had character flaws, fundamentally it was Feng Xianzong who was so powerful that he threatened the prestige of his chief minister, forcing Zhu Mou to do his best to suppress it.
"Replacing Zhu Mou and finding someone else to take over will have the same consequences as Zhu Mou. But if Feng Xianzong takes over, what will be his prestige in the cabinet?"
Zhu Yixi's expression changed slightly, and she immediately shook her head: "I have been in power for twenty years, and I am the founder of the country. Why should I be afraid of civil servants?"
Having said that, he had adjusted Feng Xianzong's five-year term in the cabinet to two or three years.
The founding heroes, civil servants and military officials alike became more and more threatening as time went by.
Imperial power is inherently sensitive and always likes to nip danger in its bud.
On the way back to the cabinet, Zhu Mou's temper did not diminish, but became more and more angry.
But when he arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion, he calmed down instantly when he saw the hurried cabinet secretary and the smiling cabinet elders.
Calm, head held high, the chief assistant is full of momentum.
…
After a while, Jinbao, the Minister of Finance, came to see him.
By virtue of his ten years in power in Luzon, Jinbao cultivated another source of wealth for the Ming Dynasty, and was promoted to a minister, which can be said to be a top figure in the officialdom.
The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of Household Affairs were all divided into three parts from the previous Ministry of Household Affairs.
Among them, the Ministry of Civil Affairs is only assigned to household registration, land, territory and other civil affairs affairs.
The Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for the storage of money and grain, the withdrawal of salaries and wages, and all expenditures must be registered with the Ministry of Household Affairs, so it is also called the Minister of Duzhi.
However, the Hubu also has a big killer weapon in its hands: the Baoyuan Bureau.
That is the Mint.
It falls under the cross-jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs. Every year, it casts silver coins, copper coins, and even gold coins, with an income of millions. It can be said that the money is earned quickly.
The Ministry of Finance is unusual. It is the most important of the three ministries. It is in charge of the collection of commercial taxes, agricultural taxes, and customs duties all over the world. Whether the court can make a living depends entirely on the collection of the Ministry of Finance.
Therefore, the Ministry of Finance has set up supervisory personnel in 1,600 counties across the country, ranging from a dozen to three to five, all of whom are senior officials.
These people alone exceed ten thousand people.
At the same time, Ming Dynasty lived within its means. Budget planning was basically done by the Ministry of Finance, and its power was obvious.
It is precisely because of this that it has become a practice for the chief minister of the cabinet to be in charge of these three ministries.
Jin Bao is sixty-two years old this year and is from Zhejiang Province. With the blessing of power, he is already in good spirits, and the gray on his temples is negligible.
"Your Majesty—" Jin Bao bowed his hands and bowed.
"Pingsheng!" Zhu Yixi said curiously: "As far as I know, the Ministry of Finance should be the busiest at this time. The tax collection in all provinces in the world makes your Ministry of Finance extremely busy. Why do Jin Qing's family come to my place?"
"I came here because of money."
Jin Bao confided helplessly.
It turns out that the imperial court's taxes have been rising year by year in recent years, which was originally a great news. However, everything cannot have advantages and disadvantages.
Most provinces across the country collected money, and a small amount was used for grain, which meant that a large amount of money was drawn from the people to the court.
The key point is that the courtiers are like hamsters and have no sense of security. They all want to hoard as much money as possible without thinking about how to spend it.
In this way, there is a money shortage among the people.
"As far as I know, Baoyuan Bureau only mints five million copper coins and one million silver coins a year, and the imperial court's commercial and agricultural taxes this year are millions more than last year."
“More money is minted than received.”
"Besides, very little money is spent..."
Jin Bao sighed: "There are twenty million people in the world. The silver and copper overseas are simply not enough to support civilian use."
To put it simply, it is deflation.
Originally, silver and copper were continuously imported from overseas every year, but they could not cope with the rapid development of business and the minting of money was not timely. This was not enough.
As for the previous military stamps and food stamps, they have gradually been eliminated, and only solid metal will be trusted.
Zhu Yixi's heart moved. The customs had been collecting tariffs over the years, and the internal money could only go in but not go out, and hundreds of millions of silver yuan were hoarded. This was also the main reason for the money shortage.
There is no shortage of money in the world, but the imperial court hoards a lot of money and continues to collect taxes, resulting in a lack of money among the people.
Jin Bao exaggerated: "In the coastal provinces, the price of a meal is thirty or forty cents, but in Shanxi, Sichuan and other inland areas, it only costs about twenty cents. The food is cheap and the money is expensive."
"Many businessmen had to borrow money in order to pay taxes and pay high interest rates to tide over the difficulties. The people vividly called it crossing the bridge."
"It is becoming increasingly difficult for businessmen to pay taxes, so tax evasion is on the rise..."
After hearing what he said, Zhu Yixi said in a deep voice: "I wonder if the Qing family has any plans?"
"My wish is that you can spend silver to buy food and cloth among the people, so that the silver coins can return to the people."
"In addition, merchants can borrow cloth to pay taxes, eliminating the trouble of borrowing money to pay taxes."
Two suggestions, one is to spend money, the other is to let cloth and silk pay taxes.
This is a reasonable and easy-to-understand plan.
Zhu Yixi nodded.
In fact, it is normal for people to be short of money, because most grass markets are basically barter, and there are very few opportunities to use copper coins. Ordinary people have become accustomed to it.
Therefore, those who are most in need of money are businessmen.
"I wonder if Jin Qing knows banknotes?"
Suddenly, the emperor asked.
"I know it." Jinbao said casually: "Some private banks will take care of money, and then exchange it with silver notes, making it easier for merchants to travel between the north and the south."
"So, if the silver coins of the world's banks are taxed, will the merchants still be short of money?"
Zhu Yixi smiled.
"But they don't have money in the bank."
"Businessmen are just short of cash, not out of money."
Zhu Yixi said softly: "Their family property, land, and treasures can all be mortgaged to get money, as long as the world's banks pay for them."
"At that time, the imperial court will take the banknote directly to Tianxia Bank to collect it."
"Businessmen also avoid the trouble of lack of money."
Jin Bao opened his mouth, waiting to speak again, but couldn't say anything.
Any money bank in the world, as long as you are not a fool, will understand that this is the private property of the emperor.
Of course, it also plays a semi-official role.
For example, if the imperial court allocates money to provide relief to the victims, the local Tianxia Bank will transport the money directly from the warehouse, without having to go all the way from Beijing or provincial capitals to allocate money.
This means that in just a few days, the local area can provide relief to the victims.
At the same time, the salaries of local officials are also withdrawn directly from Tianxia Bank, which saves a lot of effort.
The same is true. The Ministry of Finance will also let Tianxia Bank escort a lot of money, which will be escorted by its powerful security team and escort agency. You only need to pay some freight.
Now that Tianxia Bank continues to expand and can pay taxes on its behalf, it is afraid that it will become even bigger.
"Your Majesty, there are too many merchants, and I am afraid that all the banks in the world will be overwhelmed. Why not let those big banks, such as Shanxi Merchant Bank, Hui Merchant Bank, etc., participate..."
Jinbao suggested tentatively.
The customs is the emperor's cornucopia, and the bank is also the money bag. The two are basically interconnected, and there is no shortage of money at all.
Obviously, he was not as reassured about Tianxia Bank as he imagined.
It can also be said to prevent one family from becoming dominant.
"Yes." After careful consideration, Zhu Yixi agreed to the proposal.
It is not spring for one family to be dominant, but it is better for hundreds of families to flourish.
As for whether those banks can provide money?
Hum hum, the bank has no money, doesn’t the owner’s property still exist?
In feudal society, businessmen were no different than fat sheep.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" After solving the money shortage, a smile appeared on Jin Bao's face.
The businessman was unable to pay taxes, rescued tax evaders, and then the taxes were reduced. He, the minister, had to bear the responsibility. Now that the crisis was resolved, he was naturally happy.
The monarch and his ministers chatted about Luzon and the problem of its relatively small number of Han people.
Jin Bao said truthfully: "At the beginning, the number of Han people in Luzon was only ten thousand, but now there are one hundred thousand. Although it is still not many, it has increased several times."
"If we want to completely turn it into a province, we can only imitate the Northeast and recruit troops to reclaim wasteland for planting..."
He said that the reason why the population has not been as expected in recent years is because of the behavior of Han people returning to their hometowns.
In other words, many people come to Luzon just to make money to support their families. Once they get rich, they basically go home to buy land and build houses. It is difficult to settle down in Luzon.
Only those poor people who had no other choice took their families over.
Moreover, Luzon did not develop fields and was not attractive at all compared with Qi in the south, so fewer Han people settled there.
In the past, there were so many Han people in Nanyang. Firstly, the journey was long and it was difficult to get home; secondly, due to policy, they were afraid of being regarded as Japanese pirates.
"Make money in Luzon and spend money in your hometown. This is what Fujian people often say."
Goldberg recounted.
In the final analysis, it is difficult to rely on conscious development. We only need to use policies to guide them to immigrate.
Hearing this, Zhu Yixi sighed.
He originally thought that the barren land in Fujian would be enough to support the Fujian people's migration southward, but he never thought that they would instead move back.
It's better for the poor to take their family and their families with them when they move.
…
Anhui, Anqing Prefecture, governs Huaining County.
Anqing City is surrounded by mountains to the west and the Yangtze River to the east. After being surrounded by both, this place has become a first-class dangerous place.
Tianxia Qianzhuang is located in the east of the city, adjacent to the dock. It covers an area of nearly ten acres and has thirty rooms. It is also one of the best large houses in Anqing.
The four big characters of Tianxia Qianzhuang in gold foil can attract almost all passers-by along the road.
Suddenly, a team of government servants, about ten people and eight carriages, slowly arrived at the entrance of the bank.
Zhao Dianli took the lead. Pedestrians along the way bowed their heads to give way and did not dare to approach.
"Hey, move away a little. It doesn't matter if you put it in front of the door!" At this time, a man walked out of the bank, wearing a satin robe and glasses, with his head held high and his chest held high. He was not afraid of these subordinate officials:
"If you block the guests, your wealth will be blocked."
Qian Dianli had a smile on his face, without any of his usual arrogance: "Okay."
"Do you have any winks? You're blocking someone's business, please move aside."
As he spoke, he took out the account book from his pocket: "This is the commercial tax of Anqing Mansion this year. Take a look."
"Yeah!" The man with glasses picked up the abacus handed over by someone else: "Let's just count it! Don't count too low."
"There are so many people on this main road, why not go into the courtyard?"
Qian Dianli said hurriedly.
"This can't be done. You won't be able to tell clearly when you enter the courtyard. You have to do it in public."
After saying this, more than a dozen scales and dozens of baskets were laid out.
The people at the bank had no fear and just did what they were told. They opened the boxes and started counting on the spot.
The abacus jingled and the weights kept rising and falling.
It took a long time, until an hour later, when the weighing and counting were all correct, the man with the eyes showed a smile:
"The total commercial tax for Xia March in Anqing Prefecture is 127,813 yuan. Is this correct?"
Qian Dianli wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Yes, there are so many."
Immediately, a group of people came out from the side of the street, about thirty people, ten carriages, carrying swords and bows. The soldiers and horses were strong, several points stronger than those government officials.
"This trip is with Shunfeng Escort Bureau." The man with eyes introduced: "It's four hundred miles from Anqing Prefecture to Luzhou Prefecture. It's up to them."
The powerful man from the escort agency came over, cupped his hands and said: "According to the industry rules, for every 10,000 yuan transported, 50 yuan will be charged. For this trip, 127,813 yuan will be calculated as 120,000 yuan, which is six One hundred dollars.”
