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The next day, in the morning court, under the leadership of the elder Cheng Yuandao, the Qingliu people launched an attack as scheduled, impeaching the Cao Yun Yamen for corruption and waste, and then brought up the Hai Cao issue again, saying that the He Cao should be changed to a Hai Cao, Transform river transport into sea transport.
The actions of the Qingliu people were like thunder, and they immediately overturned the peaceful situation in the temple that had been peaceful for a long time.
After all, this matter does involve the interests of too many people. From different standpoints, you will naturally come to completely different and conflicting views.
For a time, hundreds of officials stood up to express their attitude. Some people followed Qingliu and vigorously criticized the canal transportation yamen. Some people defended the canal transportation yamen in every possible way. Some people chose to support the sea-cao shipping matter, and some people repeatedly emphasized the river-cao river transportation. necessity.
However, because Cheng Yuandao obtained the detailed figures of this year's water transportation grain consumption, and these figures were indeed extremely shocking, he naturally stood on the moral high ground and temporarily gained the upper hand.
During this period, compared to the strong Qingliu, the "Zhou Party" who worked hard to oppose, and the hundreds of officials who stood in separate teams, the "Zhao Party" members were unusually low-key and silent, and did not express their opinions at will. At most, they made some mock statements. Ling Liangke's point of view.
The low-key silence of the "Zhao Party" people is naturally due to Zhao Junchen's low-key silence. Before Zhao Junchen expresses his attitude, the "Zhao Party" people will not take sides at will.
And Zhao Junchen was not just silent. When he listened to the officials' statements, his expression was very focused and serious.
As he listened, a hint of sarcasm flashed across Zhao Junchen's expression.
This is because Zhao Junchen discovered that the different statements of the officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were traceable. He could make a rough guess just by looking at the composition of their family's industry and the area where the industry was distributed.
All officials who actively maintain the water transport yamen and the status quo of water transport, their individuals and families have benefited from the status quo of the water canal; all officials who impeached the canal transport yamen and advocated the sea canal issue, their individuals and families will be affected by the sea canal issue. Harvest more benefits.
In the final analysis, interests determine opinions after all, but everyone pretends to be noble and serving the country and the people. They talk about "people's livelihood" and say "well-being". They are all selfless saints in this world.
In fact, the reason why the Qingliu people, including Cheng Yuandao, are so enthusiastically opposed to the water transport yamen and the current situation of water transportation is largely because most of these Qingliu people are from the big landowner class in the south.
In fact, Zhao Junchen himself is also a slave of interests, but that does not prevent him from laughing at the same time.
Just when Zhao Junchen was secretly ridiculing all officials, including himself, Wang Shou, the Minister of War, couldn't wait to stand up and express his position, although his official power and responsibilities had almost nothing to do with water transportation.
Seeing Wang Shou stepping out of the queue, Zhao Junchen thought to himself: "Remember that Wang Shou is from Liaocheng, and Liaocheng is a must-go place for rivers and canals, so the Wang Shou family operates a large number of docks, taverns, and warehouses in Liaocheng." , and even brothels and other businesses, making a lot of money by relying on the river transport. If the river transport is changed to the sea transport, his family business will soon decline... Therefore, Wang Shou must stand up to support the current situation of water transportation. Maintain the water transport yamen!"
Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Junchen's thoughts came to an end, Wang Shou said impassionedly: "Your Majesty, since I have been in charge of the military affairs of the imperial court, I am very familiar with the various expenses incurred in the transportation of money, grain and materials! This year's water transportation and grain consumption is indeed a bit high. It’s shocking, but considering the canal blockage at the beginning of the year, this kind of food consumption is reasonable. I don’t think the water transportation yamen should bear the blame!
As for the Haicao issue, I am strongly opposed to it! River canals are the source of food and clothing for millions of canal workers. If the river canals are converted into sea canals, then millions of canal workers will lose their means of survival, and they may become millions of refugees, and they will still be strong and well-organized. Millions of refugees... Once such a situation occurs, it will threaten the foundation of our Ming Dynasty! "
Hearing Wang Shou's statement, Zhao Junchen nodded secretly and commented: "Wang Shou is worthy of being a general of the 'Emperor Party'. He really found out the relationship between water transportation and the Ministry of War, and this discussion It’s quite reasonable... If we can’t solve the problem of food and clothing for the canal workers, directly changing river transportation to sea transportation is indeed a way to cause chaos!”
However, as soon as Wang Shou finished speaking, another official who seemed to have nothing to do with the water transportation matter - Zhang Dun, the Minister of Punishment, also stood up immediately.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Dun is also a member of the "Imperial Party".
After Zhao Junchen saw Zhang Dun stepping out of the queue, he secretly thought: "Zhang Dun is similar to most Qingliu people. He comes from a large landowner class in Jiangxi. Jiangxi is the main area for grain collection. In order to ensure that The supply of Cao grain has been secretly restricting the land annexation of the nobles, otherwise there will be no place to collect grain... This situation undoubtedly affects Zhang Dun's family interests, so Zhang Dun must support the Hai Cao matter. !”
Sure enough, although Zhang Dun and Wang Shou were both members of the "Imperial Party", at this time he was in opposition to Wang Shou and said righteously: "Your Majesty, I was born in Jiangxi, and I know the people of Jiangxi best. We have suffered a heavy burden due to the bad government of rivers and waterways! If we only pay normal taxes and grains to the court, it is also the responsibility of the people, but if the people have to bear several times the additional consumption of water transportation grains, it is a bad government! Wang The minister only saw the food and clothing of hundreds of thousands of laborers, but ignored the heavy burden of tens of millions of people. Isn't this a small gain but a big loss?"
Zhang Dun's statement is still very reasonable - in fact, it is precisely because each has its own truth that the dispute between Hecao and Haicao has lasted for hundreds of years without a conclusion.
Although Zhang Dun actually only wanted to annex the people's land, it did not prevent him from speaking out for the welfare of the people on the surface.
And while the officials were arguing endlessly because of their own interests, Emperor Deqing also felt extremely annoyed.
Since Emperor Deqing came to the throne, the dispute between Hecao and Haicao has occurred seven or eight times. Each time it was a long-lasting dispute, but each time there was no result.
As for Emperor Deqing himself, he actually preferred Hecao, not only because Emperor Deqing himself was taking advantage of the current situation of Hecao to draw various benefits, but also because Emperor Deqing's governing policy has always been based on stability. Unless there are clear benefits, Emperor Deqing does not like to see too many changes.
For those in power, the so-called "change" actually means variability and chaos.
As a result, Emperor Deqing's eyes finally turned to Zhao Junchen.
In the eyes of Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen was undoubtedly the best at settling accounts among the officials of the Manchu Dynasty. If Zhao Junchen thought that the Haicao incident would benefit the court more, Emperor Deqing might change his mind, but If Zhao Junchen thought that the benefits of Haicao were not great, then Emperor Deqing would continue to resist Haicao. In this regard, Emperor Deqing still trusted Zhao Junchen.
However, when Emperor Deqing turned his attention to Zhao Junchen, he quickly discovered something.
Zhao Junchen has been silent and low-key since he came to court that day, so none of the officials of the "Zhao Party" came forward to express their opinions!
You must know that the interests of everyone in the "Zhao Party" are also closely related to the water transportation. Some people benefit from the current situation of water transportation, and some are harmed by the current situation of water transportation. However, no "Zhao Party" official took the opportunity to stand up and express his opinions. Attitude and strive for the interests of yourself and your family.
It is obvious that all "Zhao Party" officials are quietly waiting for Zhao Junchen to take the lead in expressing his attitude, and then they will decide their own position based on Zhao Junchen's attitude.
This undoubtedly reflects Zhao Junchen's high control over the forces of the "Zhao Party", so much so that all "Zhao Party" officials regard Zhao Junchen's attitude as the primary condition for determining their own stance.
In other words, compared to the benefits assigned to them by Zhao Junchen, the benefits related to water transportation are simply not worth mentioning to the "Zhao Party" officials.
From this aspect, the "Zhao Party" has obviously become an extremely close community of interests.
After thinking of this, Emperor Deqing's eyes showed some haze,
At the same time, Emperor Deqing's thoughts were very similar to Zhou Shangjing's last night.
"Just looking at the performance of the members of the 'Zhao Party', we know that Zhao Junchen's power base has become more and more stable. If he is allowed to expand further, sooner or later he will become an uncontrollable trouble...
It's a pity that in recent years, the court's luck has always been bad. Natural disasters have occurred frequently in various parts of the country, and the national food inventory is also stretched... Before the court's food shortage dilemma is completely solved, I can only suppress him secretly, but it is not completely The best time to get rid of him! "
While thinking deeply, Emperor Deqing already put on a trusting attitude and asked Zhao Junchen: "Zhao Aiqing, you are the elder of the imperial court. You are also the most familiar with the fiscal matters of the imperial court, and you must be familiar with the current situation of water transportation. You are the most insightful, why have you not spoken up all this time? What is your attitude towards the impeachment of the Caoyun Yamen by Mr. Cheng Ge and others, as well as the dispute between the rivers, seas and seas among the officials? "
Zhao Junchen's silence and low profile were deliberate, just to wait for this moment.
At this time, all the officials had expressed their opinions, and Emperor Deqing asked personally. Zhao Junchen stood up and stated his position at this time, which would naturally lead to a final conclusion.
So, after Zhao Junchen stepped out of the queue, he slowly replied: "Your Majesty, I have not spoken. I am just secretly calculating the pros and cons of river and sea canals in my heart."
Emperor Deqing asked with great interest: "Oh? We all know that you are the best at calculating accounts, but have you calculated the results?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "After detailed calculations by the minister, I found that the figures listed by Mr. Cheng Ge just now are all correct. Due to the blockage of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the cost of water transportation this year is about four times that of grain. If it is replaced by sea transportation, If transported by sea, the cost is only about 80%!”
Hearing that Zhao Junchen agreed with his statement, Cheng Yuandao couldn't help but glow.
In fact, if Zhao Junchen denies these statistics, Cheng Yuandao will immediately disclose the origin of these statistics and ask Song Huancheng to stand up and prove that these statistics come from within the Ministry of Household Affairs. Then Zhao Junchen will undoubtedly become a liar. .
But then, Zhao Junchen's next words immediately made Cheng Yuandao change his expression.
“However, although Cheng Gelao’s figures are accurate, they are not comprehensive… In other words, when calculating the cost of sea canals, they are not comprehensive, but when calculating the cost of river canals, they are too comprehensive!
For example, when calculating the cost of river canals, Mr. Cheng Ge also included the costs of maintaining canals and repairing canals. However, although these costs are huge, they cannot be saved in any way... These costs can only be reduced at most. It proves that the cost of the river canal is too high, but it cannot prove the greed and extravagance of the canal transport yamen...
In fact, over the years, whenever the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal is blocked, the cost of river water transportation is four or five times as much as the water transportation. All officials in the Caoyun Yamen must be held accountable! "
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, several "Zhou Party" officials laughed deliberately on the spot, and Cheng Yuandao couldn't help but show anger.
There is no other reason. Cheng Yuandao himself came from a famous family, and his maternal ancestors included Yang Yipeng, the governor of water transportation during the Wanli period!
Zhao Junchen's meaning is obvious. If the Caoyun Yamen is to be held accountable, the ancestors of Cheng Yuandao's mother's family must first be held accountable.
Therefore, Cheng Yuandao could not continue to bother about the impeachment of Cao Yun Yamen for a while. Instead, he thought he had caught Zhao Junchen's words and immediately asked: "Oh? From what Zhao Gechen said, he also believed that Haicao's cost was lower and its benefits were greater. too much?"
For Cheng Yuandao, compared to the impeachment of the Water Transport Yamen, the dispute between Hecao and Haicao is naturally more important. It will not only allow Cheng Yuandao to leave his name in the history books, but also win more benefits for Qingliu people.
Hearing Cheng Yuandao's inquiry, Zhao Junchen turned to Cheng Yuandao and smiled kindly, nodded and said: "In the long run, the cost of Hai Cao is indeed lower, so of course I am willing to support Hai Cao!
But as I said just now, when Mr. Cheng calculated the cost of the canal, although the figures were accurate, they were not comprehensive!
For example, once the sea canal project is implemented, the coastal seaports must be expanded, at least three to five expansions... It will take about ten years and cost about eight million taels of silver... But this cost, the process Mr. Ge didn't seem to be calculating. "
After hearing the numbers "ten years" and "eight million", many people in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, including Emperor Deqing, frowned.
There are only so many benefits in the temple. Once a large amount of money is invested in the construction of the seaport for a long time, won't the benefits shared by the officials become less?
"Good guy, I'm going to put all eight million taels of silver into the pocket of the Ministry of Industry in one breath. No wonder Zhao Junchen expressed his support for the Hai Cao project!" This was what many officials were thinking at this time.
In fact, as Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Chen Dongxiang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, immediately jumped out, patted his chest and vowed that the Ministry of Industry would be able to properly complete the task of seaport expansion.
After Chen Dongxiang finished his statement, Zhao Junchen continued with a calm expression: "In addition to the expansion of the seaport, if the river channel is to be converted into a sea canal, the former canal boats will no longer be usable, and a new batch of canal boats must be built to withstand the waves. The bumpy Ten Thousand Stone Fortune Ship... Considering the amount of grain harvested every year, at least 500 ships must be built. The cost of each Fortune Ship is about 80,000 taels of silver, and the maintenance cost is about 500 taels per year!"
Chen Dongxiang's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he immediately jumped out again to ensure that the Ministry of Industry could not only properly complete the task of expanding the seaport, but also have the spare capacity to build a large number of ocean-going ships for the imperial court. He wished he could issue a military order on the spot.
When the officials heard this, they thought - "Zhao Junchen simply wants to move all the money from the treasury to the Ministry of Industry!"
However, Zhao Junchen's statement was still not over. Under everyone's attention, he slowly continued: "In addition, we must also consider the pirate plunder overseas, so we must expand the imperial navy... …But I can’t calculate exactly how much this expense will be at the moment, and it depends on the Ministry of War’s calculations…but I estimate that this number should not be less than five million taels!”
After hearing Zhao Junchen say this, the attitudes of the officials have changed one after another.
After all, giving a large amount of resources to the Ministry of War to expand the navy is related to the bottom line of the civil-military battle!
On the other side, every time Zhao Junchen mentioned a number, the corners of Emperor Deqing's eyes could not help but twitch...
After Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Emperor Deqing took a deep breath, and then without waiting for the officials to continue expressing their opinions on the controversy, he directly opened the coffin and concluded: "As for the Hai Cao matter, let's put it aside for the time being... The deposit of the national treasury has just been It’s more abundant, let’s discuss it in a few years!”
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I'm in bad shape lately.
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