"Your Highness, Sun Chuanting, Li Daiwen, Du Yinxi, and Zuo Maodi are already outside the palace awaiting orders!"
"Xuan!"
The two assistant ministers, one old and one new, have been educated by me to the point where they have been taught everything that needs to be said to them. They will know in a few days whether they can make any progress.
First of all, Xue Guoguan should be beaten and asked to be the wolf dog of this palace. The dog food is to get his daughter into the palace. Unless something big happens, this title of quasi-national champion will not escape.
The doubt about Wu Di is whether he can understand many political orders, cooperate with himself, coordinate the work of the cabinet and the six ministries, and re-operate the imperial court that is about to fall apart.
Although the imperial court has experienced a large-scale personnel change this time, except for the elimination of three cabinet members, the overall framework is completely consistent with the previous one. The top priority right now is the integration of officials performing their duties.
It is also necessary to minimize the adverse effects of cleaning up the borers, because the borers that enrich themselves will never be those reported by Founder. Regarding the selection and appointment of officials, Wu Zong, the second assistant, and Du Yinxi, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, must be serious. Review.
"My dear friends, I will give you a seat without any courtesy! Have all the military pay been distributed to the soldiers?"
The most important thing for Yao Ji is to pay wages. Thirty thousand Qin soldiers are stationed outside the city. If they don't receive wages for a long time, they will feel resentful. If they are provoked at this time, they may not be able to suppress them.
If this kind of thing were you, your boss would not pay you a salary after he earned several million. If you were working in an ordinary job, you could tolerate it. I ask you if you have a weapon to ask for salary, and your friend has it. Yes, this is dangerous...
Li Daiwen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, reported the report and took advantage of the situation he collected: "Your Highness, all the officers and soldiers present have been paid. I have sent people to the camps outside the city to pay the remaining officers and soldiers. The on-site report is 31,500. One hundred and sixty-three, after verification, the actual number is 28,857, a difference of 2,706."
In other words, a group of general soldiers under Sun Chuanting planned to eat the free pay of at least 2,700 people, not counting the losers who stayed at the garrison.
One person has ten taels, which is 27,000 taels. If it is not distributed to everyone this time, this money will be divided up by several general soldiers, and each person can pocket at least a thousand taels. So many.
After the trick was exposed, the conspirators were very angry. However, Sun Chuanting reminded that the Jinyiwei, Yongweiying, and Dongchang present were also watching with eager eyes. The Qin soldiers were not crazy enough to fall out on the spot.
If a fight really breaks out, both sides will lose. The Yongwei Battalion's artillery mount is at the top of the city. When it fires, it won't distinguish between small soldiers and general soldiers. With one shot, all the bullshit general soldiers will be blown to pieces...
Li Daiwen didn't go into details. With the prince's intelligence, as long as he reported the specific amount, he would know what to do.
Sun Chuanting knew he couldn't escape, so he talked to Li Daiwen on the way, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to plead guilty: "I have failed to manage the army well, and I hope your highness will punish me!"
Yaoji didn't intend to use this matter to punish Lao Suntou. He was his own thigh, so he had to hug it tightly. If he cut off his thigh at this time, he would really be "in a wheelchair": "Sun Aiqing doesn't have to be like this, the court I have been in arrears for a long time, so this incident is inevitable, just be careful from now on, get up!"
This criticism can only be made in private when only the emperor and his ministers are talking. If you really criticize in front of so many people, you have no brains and you have to save some face for the feudal officials.
Long Yan gets angry at every turn and blames his loyal ministers, that is, the blame dumper can do it. When he thinks of the weird things that the dumper dad does, Yaoji really wants to put a mosaic on his father's face. I really can't afford to lose that person...
Besides, it is a common phenomenon to pay empty wages. It is impossible for the whole Qin army to be like this just because Lao Suntou is strict with himself.
The generals under his command, such as He Renlong, Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu, Zuo Guangxian and others, are not fuel-efficient lamps.
At this time, He Renlong also had a subordinate named Gao Jie. Gao Jie was the macho man who turned courier Brother Li into the "Express Hulk" and abducted Brother Li's wife Xing.
There are only two people who can make Brother Li "never forget" him for the rest of his life, one is the emperor and the other is Gao Jie!
Gao Jie is not the most important. Gao Jie had two notorious men, one named Xu Dingguo and the other named Li Chengdong. These two were the executioners who changed the entire history a few years later and made great achievements for the "King of the Qing Dynasty".
Xu Dingguo, who was the first seller to seek glory in the four towns in Jiangbei, died a year after ambushing Gao Jie, and did not enjoy any glory or wealth.
After Li Chengdong massacred Guangzhou, he failed to get the title he expected, so he revolted and was destroyed by the "Qing Wang Shi" who came to rebel.
In addition to the unjust death of Gao Jie, the death of his two subordinates stained with Mingren's blood was really not a pity. It would be a good fortune to keep the whole body.
Having said that, even if the composition of Qin Bing is so complicated, it is still one of the trump cards in the current imperial army. Most of the other combat effectiveness is not as good as Qin Bing.
It is almost a luxury to expect that the local armed forces can be like Huang Degong's Yongwei Battalion. If they can be loyal to the court and use their strength to kill the enemy, they will be worthy of the military pay allocated.
"I am extremely frightened and I feel ashamed of Your Highness's grace!"
Sun Chuanting had just rescued himself from prison two days ago, but later it was revealed that he had been paid for free, which made Sun Chuanting feel ashamed.
"This matter is not unique to the Qing Dynasty. Which department in the Ming Dynasty does not have it? If I punish you like this, how can the commanders who are defending the enemy outside feel at ease?"
I have investigated you today. If the news reaches Guan Ning, what will Hong Chengchou think? What would Zu Dashou think? What would the third brother think?
As long as you don't eat too much, such as one-tenth of the land, it is completely tolerable. This can be regarded as a bonus given to the generals if they do not win the battle.
If you win a war, you should be rewarded, and if you don't fight, you should be given some sweetness. That's how it is these days. Don't expect others to work hard for you with a basic salary.
"I think this is because I didn't think carefully. The Qin soldiers have been fighting enemies for many years, and their achievements are brilliant. Rewards should have been allocated long ago. However, the household department is in trouble, and my father has not been able to do what he wanted. This time, things have changed a lot, so he should be rewarded. According to the total number of soldiers, 2,000 taels, the deputy generals, 1,500 taels, the generals, 1,000 taels, the garrison, 500 taels, the total number of thousand taels, 200 taels, and the total number of generals, 100 taels, the Ministry of Household Affairs will distribute the silver reward."
Taking empty pay is a hint that I have not spent enough money and land. If I want them to continue to work for the old Zhu family, I must add some chips. With this basic salary alone, I may not be able to buy their priceless properties. "The heart of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country".
What Yaoji admires the most is those fellow travelers from the late Ming Dynasty. As long as they climb up and raise their arms and shout two impassioned slogans to ensure that the group buff is activated, the animals below will all be excited and furious, vowing to kill all the pigtails.
Not only shouting, you can also really beat the opponent to pieces and lose their armor. It seems that as long as the protagonist is in the battle, the losers will be invincible. Even if they are not, the battle damage ratio will be reversed in an instant. .
I just want to know, without spending a lot of money, without using technology to produce weapons, facing the main force of the trinity of mounted infantry and artillery, how do you achieve a comeback and win consecutive battles?
Could it be using the legendary weapon of mass destruction—nuclear-powered cannon?
It’s really hard for them to meet such a protagonist and have braids that can persist for so many years. It’s better to retreat to Siberia as soon as possible. At least they can play with Xiong Da and Xiong Er there...
According to this inference, the Ming army must have been deliberately disguising themselves in the face of repeated defeats by the braid, waiting painstakingly for the gorgeous appearance of the hot-tongued protagonist!
Li Daiwen quickly agreed, grumbling in his heart. The prince's order meant that Taicang, the Ministry of Finance, was short of tens of thousands of taels of silver.
I wanted to argue with reason, but then I thought, hundreds of thousands of taels have been spent, so I don't need this little money. The Qin soldiers are close at hand, so this reward must be given.
Yaoji must imitate Yongzheng now and appease Nian Gengyao first, and wait for the rest later. He must also hold back his huge dissatisfaction. If he can't hold it back, he will find a toilet to vent it!
"Your Highness..."
"Okay, let's do it this way. If Sun Aiqing doesn't mind that my reward is too small, then get up and sit down to talk!"
Sun Chuanting also wanted to excuse himself, but Yaoji directly interrupted the other party's good intentions.
I have paid off all the debts and paid you two months' salary. Let's see how you perform!
Yaoji didn't want to mention the Qin soldiers anymore, and went on to say that he might not know how much money the Ministry of Revenue would be short of, so he mentioned a previous personnel appointment: "Just now, I asked Zuo Maodi Zuo Aiqing to be the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue. , it seems a bit abrupt when I think about it later. Although the rebellion in Shaanxi has been subsided, if the bandits from all walks of life have disappeared, if they are not appeased, they will definitely be ready to make another move. Ding Qirui is now the governor of Shaanxi and is quite talented, but I think it is not It's appropriate. I want to send Zuo Aiqing to patrol the important northwest areas for the imperial court. I wonder what Zuo Aiqing wants?"
Ding Qirui has been in Shaanxi for more than ten years and has held many positions. He is not unsatisfied, but his talents are mediocre and his political achievements are just mediocre. If he continues to manage Shaanxi, he may still be like this. It is better to change the general immediately.
Zuo Maodi once served as the magistrate of Hancheng County. When he first took office, the area suffered from successive disasters and bandits. It was already hard to survive. After Zuo Maodi took office, he first defeated the siege by bandits, then provided relief to the people, and then established schools, which was supported by the local people.
Things decided by the prince can only be changed by himself and cannot be influenced by others. When he learned that he was going to his hometown, Zuo Maodi hurriedly stood up and saluted: "I will do my best to share the worries of His Highness!"
The first time he went to Shaanxi, he was just a county magistrate. But now, unexpectedly, he had been promoted to governor by the prince and became a true minister of the Ming Dynasty. Zuo Maodi couldn't help but feel secretly excited.
Yaoji waved his hand and asked him to sit down and obey: "Aiqing has made great achievements in governing Hancheng and has been praised by officials. I have heard about it for a long time. If Aiqing can apply the experience of governing Hancheng to the whole territory of Shaanxi and Xi'an, then the northwest No more worries! However, this place has been poor for a long time, and many shortcomings cannot be changed overnight. Xue Aiqing and Sun Aiqing here are both from Shaanxi, so they must feel it!"
What I said here can only be regarded as a quotation. The two local people said that they have seen it since childhood. The authenticity is beyond doubt.
Xue Guoguan got the four-word secret and knew that it was time for him to perform, so he agreed: "What His Highness said is absolutely true. If Zhongcheng wants to cure Shaanxi, he must first eradicate poverty. The current situation of Shaanxi is ultimately a 'poor' The word is causing trouble. My hometown is Hancheng, which was under the rule of Zhongcheng Qianfan. I have heard some comments from people from my hometown before, and they are all praises. The decrees I implemented are also highly praised by the subsequent magistrates. From this we can see that Zhongcheng has outstanding talents, and he will definitely make great achievements as governor of Shaanxi on behalf of His Highness!"
In terms of face, Xue Guoguan has everything he can do, but many things are just a matter of time. For example, how to cure poverty, he will not think of a solution for you. The core of what is said is to affirm the appointment of the prince. As a native of his hometown, to praise Zuo Maodi, what he can do specifically has nothing to do with his one tael of silver.
After the chief minister finished speaking, it was the turn of another fellow countryman Sun Chuanting to speak: "It is extremely difficult for Zhongcheng to cure Shaanxi. Except for a corner of Guanzhong, the vast land is barren, and the lack of rainfall has led to frequent locust plagues. This is adding insult to injury. Although there are no large groups of bandits running rampant today, the people are still in embarrassment, and we must still be wary of people with ulterior motives using rumors to incite the people to harm and cause chaos."
In Sun Chuanting's view, Shaanxi was not poor, but too poor. She was so poor that after farming for a year, she found that she could not feed herself at the end of the year. It was good not to have enough to eat. In many places, people were about to starve to death. .
If the imperial court does not open warehouses for relief, the people will inevitably change and carry out large-scale suppression, which will cost millions of taels in food and salary.
For the imperial court, if Shaanxi was not in chaos, it would spend a lot of money on relief. If Shaanxi was in chaos, the imperial court could hardly afford the money.
Without three to four million taels of silver a year, I would not be able to appease the vast Shaanxi.
The Shandong managed by Yan Jizu has at least developed sea and water transportation, and grain is very easy to transport. Shaanxi is located in the northwest. If you transport grain there, one-third to half of it will be eaten on the way, which is extremely costly.
If we give four million taels to help Shanxi, after all the wastage and moths are taken into account, if two million taels finally fall on the people, it will be regarded as five blessings.
If this money is really spent, it will be equivalent to almost one-sixth of the imperial court's annual income. If it is not controlled by a reliable direct lineage, it will probably be thrown into the big mouths of the moths.
I took out money, but a lot of it was lost. This story really makes me very depressed. Moreover, discussing official matters is expensive and heartbreaking, and I don’t have time to take a break...
Yao Ji reluctantly cheered up and said coquettishly: "As far as I know, not many of the students selected in the palace examination are willing to go to Shaanxi to perform their duties. Even if they are arranged by the officials, they will ask someone to give them gifts to make them happy. Away from here, this is the current situation!”
Anyone who goes to Shaanxi to become an official is either there to earn money through gold plating, or has no way of giving gifts. There are only a few who really want to do things for the people.
There is no doubt that someone as talented and capable as Zuo Maodi who is willing to go is the only one in a million!
