"Okay, okay, all of you are indeed loyal and loyal ministers to the country. I am very relieved that the Ming Dynasty has such honorable ministers as you."
Nanjing, Outer City, Xiyuan Palace.
In a palace that was built for who knows how many years, but still stands and was recently repainted. The Ming Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian, who thought he was wise, was finally deceived by the cunning and cunning ministers Luo Sigong and Luo Yangxing.
Seeing the "offer" jointly submitted by the Luo family, several nobles from the south, and a group of nobles from Nanjing, Long Yan was overjoyed.
It seems that Zhu Youjian is very satisfied with the quotation of 20 million stones for folded cloth and silk!
"Sichuan handed over almost 10 million, Huguang handed over 20 million stone rice. If Southern Zhili could hand over cloth and silk of the same value... these alone would be almost 50 million!" It was probably like never seen in my life. Zhu Youjian, who had so much money, smiled so much that he couldn't close his mouth. He smiled and said to several civil servants in python robes and black gauze standing on his left and right, "This dynasty has never been so rich since the founding of the country by Taizu! With so much money, With so much money, food, cloth and silk, why should I worry about the annihilation of slaves and traitors and the injustice in Liaodong? Why should I worry about the great disasters in the Central Plains and Northwest China?"
The civil servants who arrived at Xiyuan earlier than the nobles of Nanjing were Zhu Xieyuan, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, Yan Mingtai, the Minister of the Ministry of Husbandry in Nanjing, Zhuangwei, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing, Wang Yongguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, Zhou Yingqiu, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing, Li Changgeng, Minister of Criminal Affairs of Nanjing.
The Sixth Ministry of Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty was basically a nursing home for officials. Being an official in the Sixth Ministry of Nanjing was sometimes called "official hermitage", which meant that the official status was as simple as retirement, which was basically transparent.
However, there are exceptions. For example, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing has some real power and is responsible for collecting taxes from all prefectures in Zhili and Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang provinces. In addition, the Nanjing Household Department also has independent warehouses, grain depots and bank depots. However, the taxation behavior and tax amount must be reported to the Beijing Ministry of Household Affairs for approval in advance. One copy of the annual income and expenditure accounts is submitted to the imperial court, and the other is submitted to the Ministry of Household Affairs for filing.
In other words, the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs is actually an agency of the Beijing Ministry of Household Affairs. However, it also has certain independent authority. For example, the Nanjing Department of Household Affairs and the Beijing Department of Household Affairs have no right to directly allocate inventory, and can only rely on the emperor's "sacred judgment".
There is also the responsibility for managing the "yellow book", which is the household register made by the Ming Dynasty to verify household registration and collect taxes and levies. However, the "Yellow Book" of the Ming Dynasty was just a formality after the Hongwu period. It was nominally made every ten years, but in fact it was copied and written, and no one took it seriously.
In addition to the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing, as long as the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing holds the title of "Counsellor and Mechanical Affairs", he will jointly manage all affairs in Nanjing with the garrison eunuchs and Nanjing garrison ministers. Generally among these three people, the Master of the Ministry of War in Nanjing is the main one.
So now the real leader of Nanjing City is Zhu Xieyuan, the Minister of War in Nanjing. He is the hero of Sichuan protection Zhu Xieyuan who has been missed by the Sichuan noble gentry and soldiers for a long time!
The second among the six Nanjing films is Yan Mingtai, who flatters Wei Zhongxian too much. After Zhu Youjian came to power, he was left idle and sent to Nanjing as a minister. Except for the minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, the other five Nanjing ministers all worked.
"Yan Shangshu," Zhu Youjian looked at Yan Mingtai, "I see that the accounts of the Nanjing Household Department are a complete mess! The tax rates in each prefecture, state, and county are different, and it doesn't make sense... Also The accounts of many military camps are even more confusing!"
The Ming Dynasty’s tax standards have no standards! It's very confusing. Different counties under the same prefecture will have different standards, and counties often dispute over how to share the tax amount.
Zhu Youjian paused, and then said: "Can your Nanjing Household Department take this opportunity to sort out this confusing account? Follow the method of the Eight Prefectures in North Zhili. Clean the fields first and check The number is clearly stated, and then divided into military, official, civilian fields and upper, middle and lower fields... There are nine levels, and a unified tax rate is set for each level. Rice is no longer collected, all colors are folded, and cloth is folded. You can exchange silk for silver, but the total cannot be less than 10 million!"
After hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Yan Mingtai was a little surprised, but also a little scared, "Long live my lord, will you let my household department be responsible for inventorying and sorting out the land and tax rates of the 18 prefectures in South Zhili?"
This is Nanzhili! The water is very deep... Now only Luo Sigong and Luo Yangxing, father and son in Nanjing, have persuaded Bao Xungui to give in. However, the southeastern scholar-bureaucrats, who are more powerful and more widely distributed than Nanjing Xungui, have not yet spoken out. Where is my son!
However, Zhu Youjian, a fierce and fierce man, handed over such an important mission to the Nanjing Household Department, which undoubtedly gave Yan Mingtai a chance to make a comeback.
If Yan Mingtai doesn't catch him well, then the Jin Yiwei might be waiting for him to be imprisoned... Because he worked too hard to please Wei Zhongxian, after Wei Zhongxian's fall, there have been officials to impeach him!
"It's not the 18 prefectures in South Zhili," Zhu Youjian shook his head. "There is no need to investigate Xuzhou, and there is no need to investigate the Huaibei area of Fengyang and Huai'an."
That’s right, Cha Tian, not Cha Hai! The whole country has been flooded, how can we check it?
"As for the remaining territory," Zhu Youjian asked, "Can the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs check it? Can it be checked well?"
"Your Majesty," Yan Mingtai took a breath, "As long as Your Majesty can give me full power, I can go through fire and water for Your Majesty!"
"Okay!" Zhu Youjian nodded and said with a smile, "What I want is your words!" His tone suddenly became serious, "I will give you great power, and I will issue a big edict later, give you the Shangfang Sword, and then order Huai The general officers of the four towns of Dongfang, Huaixi, Jiangnan and Jiangdong and the general army of Nanjing Jingying cooperated with the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs to inventory the land of the 17 prefectures in South Zhili and organize taxation. Anyone who dares to resist can be killed first and then reported. If anyone dares to gather a crowd, If you resist, you can order the Fifth General Soldier to send troops to suppress it!"
Zhu Youjian's words were quite harsh, but the officials and nobles present let out a sigh of relief.
Because Emperor Zhu gave the power of investigating and clearing land to the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue... there was a lot of room for change.
Moreover, Zhu Youjian also asked the five generals of Nanjing Jingying, Huaidong, Huaixi, Jiangnan, and Jiangdong to cooperate with Yan Mingtai. It sounds scary, but in reality it's not much of a deterrent.
Because these five generals are all distinguished men from Beijing, they are not too evil. And the cooperation does not mean that Yan Mingtai controls these five generals and becomes the governor of Southern Zhili. There are many twists and turns...
"I accept the order!" Yan Mingtai bowed and bowed, accepting this extremely hot task.
Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction. He didn't seem to be worried at all about the tax inspection and land clearance in Nanzhili... and he didn't mention any commercial taxes again. Instead, he changed the topic and talked about his love for the cultural scenery of South Zhili.
"Although I grew up in the north, I am still a southerner. Fengyang is my hometown. And Nanjing, with its outstanding people, rich products, and surrounded by mountains and rivers... is my hometown in my heart!"
As Zhu Youjian spoke, his eyes suddenly became sore and tears came out. There was also a bit of vicissitudes in his words, "This time when I arrived in Laoshan, Jiangbei, I felt like a wanderer returning home! The mountains and rivers all seemed familiar to me, making me feel extremely familiar, as if I had already spent decades in Laoshan and Nanjing..."
He lived in Nanjing for more than 60 years in his previous life... Although he did not have great power, he enjoyed all the glory in the world, spent the best years, and raised more than 200 children, and he also learned so much Be a wise king!
Of course, these years were unforgettable for him. Every time he closed his eyes, he would go back to the days when he was enjoying life as the Supreme Emperor and learning to be a wise king.
Thinking of these, Zhu Youjian sighed: "Jiangnan is better! I want to stay here forever when I come!"
What?
Long term stay?
Don't you want to leave? Are you going to return to Nanjing?
No, you have to go back to guard the country and block Huang Taiji for everyone!
All the civil and military officials present were stunned by Zhu Youjian's words, but they immediately understood what this violent king was planning.
He wants to keep an eye on Nanjing to check the big guys’ fields and their taxes!
There is no such treacherous emperor in Ming Dynasty as you!
