Fundraising instead of donation!
This method is good for Chongzhen and the ministers. At least it is justified in terms of dignity and face.
What's more, the emperor used the Ma'anshan iron ore as a mortgage and was determined not to move the entire mountain.
In the eyes of the loyal people, everyone in the world knows about the deposits in this mine, and there are also some evil people who are planning to do evil.
If it falls into the hands of loyal people, it can be regarded as helping the emperor to take care of the mine, which is much safer than falling into the hands of others.
If the Ma'anshan iron ore is as the prince said, it can be mined, smelted in large quantities, and used in all walks of life.
In the future, depending on the specific situation, some money can be used to inject capital into the iron ore project.
"You are all loyal and good men. You are also a gentleman. As I said to myself, a gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way. This method is a proper way to get wealth. You can take it as much as you can. This mine is a treasure given to me by His Majesty the Emperor Gao, the ancestor of the immortal world. , to solve the urgent needs of the imperial court, there are also the tungsten mines in Jiangxi and the coal mines in Lianghuai. Mastering these three mines, as long as they are mined properly, one can earn up to one million taels of silver in Taicang every year, and the rest must be made up of commercial and agricultural taxes. .Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we have placed heavy taxes on agriculture and light taxes on merchants. Now that the country is in crisis, merchants who enjoy more than 200 young tax benefits are naturally responsible. If merchants shirk this and refuse to pay taxes, they will just sit back and watch us. The Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the stubborn enemy! If you don’t want to pay taxes to the Ming Dynasty, you just want to pay taxes to the Donglu! For such profiteers, the court must punish them mercilessly! The prince once told me a plan. I don’t want to adopt it, but I didn’t expect that the merchant is so proud of himself and so ignorant of praise! The chief assistant is a scholar, can he guess the plan proposed by the prince?”
Chongzhen was so excited by the one hundred thousand taels of silver suddenly thrown out by Gao Hongtu that he almost forgot what he recalled during the break. Now he finally remembered it and mentioned it casually.
"...Your Majesty, forgive me for my stupidity. The prince is very talented. It is really difficult to guess my identity. I hope your Majesty will forgive me!"
The first assistant, Qu Shichun, didn't know what the prince had said. He could only be sure that it was used to deal with merchants.
But seeing the emperor show off like this, I guess the strategy adopted by the prince will definitely make the merchants miserable and have no countermeasures.
"How about a guess from Jisuke?"
Chongzhen was in a good mood now, so he kept it under wraps and didn't say it directly.
"Your Majesty, I am old and my brain power is already inferior to that of my chief minister!"
Gao Hongtu complained about this. I just spent a lot of money to show my loyalty. Why is there an old man in this?
"In this case, I will tell you all. The prince told me at that time that there is no way out for merchants who do not want to pay full tax to the court in accordance with regulations. There are many ways out, and that is to get out of the Ming Dynasty! You can also go to Donglu. , go to Menggu, if you can't, you can go to Annan and Luzon! Otherwise, as long as you stand on the soil of the Ming Dynasty, you must abide by the Ming Dynasty law for one day! If you don't want to leave, and you don't want to abide by the law, then you just have to wait. He has been punished by the imperial court! What do you dear princes think of what the prince said?"
At first, Chongzhen felt that these words were very vulgar and even undermined the majesty of the royal family. But after careful consideration, he thought that this was indeed the case.
Being in the territory of the Ming Dynasty and not wanting to obey the orders of the imperial court, even most of the generals with military power would not dare to be so domineering, right?
"Your Majesty, I think this principle is simple and easy to understand, and it is very applicable to merchants! The first priority for me, the Ming Dynasty Zimin, is to abide by the law. Otherwise, I will be jailed at the least, or be executed at the worst. There is no other way!"
Fu Guan, the Minister of Punishment, had not read the Book of Heaven before, which meant he had a guilty conscience. He had to make up for it now, otherwise he would definitely not feel at ease.
"Your Majesty, I agree with what Chief Si Kou said! Not respecting the laws is a arrogant king! Resisting the decree and not respecting it is rebellion! The merchants have indulged for a long time and have ignored the Ming Dynasty, ignored the court, and even more ignored the majesty of Your Majesty. They should be severely punished!"
Li Rixuan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, figured out the emperor's thoughts. In fact, there was only one main topic in today's court meeting, and that was how to deal with the merchants.
As long as you understand this point, all remarks can be centered around this topic, and it is not an exaggeration to regard it as a palace test for the ministers.
"I agree with what Fu Guan and Li Rixuan said!"
Shi Kefa, the left minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of Zuo Qiandu, made the third suggestion. He had been the governor of water transportation for a period of time, so he naturally understood the reason.
Shi Kefa naturally knew the actual situation of the fleet plying the canal. It was not that he did not want to change, but that he was unable to change it.
Even if it is known that seven or eight out of every ten ships are carrying illegal salt, after reporting it, nothing will happen. The superiors will send people to come down to investigate, and the ship owner will also produce a certificate issued by the Lianghuai government.
Only like Shen Xun, who directly takes people to the treasury in Lianghuai to verify the salt tax money, can the disease be cured. But how many people dare to do such an offending thing?
Not only did the salt merchant have great powers, he could also be regarded as a merchant who could dominate one area. If he could not rectify the officialdom of Lianghuai, there was no way he could uproot the salt merchant.
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal..."
After a while, the ministers came out one after another to express that what the prince said was true and that this method was really good.
If you don't pay, get out!
Simple and efficient!
If you don't leave, you have to pay money!
Since the gentle approach won't work, we can only be a little rough with the profiteers!
For the Ming Dynasty, the master who refuses to take soft and hard measures has probably not yet been born!
Even the Donglu and the rogue bandits were very interested in trading with each other and recruiting peace.
The merchants were so arrogant, probably because they were sure that the court would not dare to kill them.
They never expected that Chongzhen at this time was no longer the Chongzhen who was worrying about one hundred thousand taels of silver in Beidu.
Now we really need to make up the difference of 1.5 million taels, but the purpose is to collect at least 7 to 8 million taels of business tax money every year in the future!
Without five million taels of silver every year, Beiting might not be able to withstand the frequent blows from internal and external troubles.
Without an annual income of seven to eight million taels of silver, Nanting, which was located in the south, was unable to operate.
"..."
Chen Zilong and others also wanted to express their opinions, but the emperor did not ask them, and the ministers ignored their existence. The situation was quite embarrassing.
"In addition, I would like to announce one more thing. Starting from this year, in the eight corners of the land under the jurisdiction of Nanting, farmers do not need to use grain to pay taxes first. They can pay the grain directly at the levy price. If taxes are levied, The price of grain is set at one stone and one tael, and farmers can pay the full amount of grain at this price."
The vigorous promotion of "color folding" was something that happened at the time of Zhang Juzheng, but it is no longer applicable now.
The reason is that there is severe drought and frequent natural disasters in the north. Farmers in the south first sell their grain, and the court then uses the money to buy grain...
Isn’t this taking off your pants and farting? ? ?
In fact, farmers first had to convert grain into copper coins, and then convert the copper coins into silver. They paid taxes in silver, not copper coins.
That is to say, farmers must first have two layers of skin removed before they can complete the tax payment tasks assigned by the court.
Both the squire and the county magistrate can benefit from it, and the suffering is not even a little bit.
"The prince said that this policy can be implemented by the Southern Court, but there is no need for the Northern Court to do so. Who can tell me why the prince said this to me? Chen Zilong! Do you know?"
Chongzhen asked about it at that time, but was choked by the traitor and was speechless for a long time.
"...Back to Your Majesty, perhaps His Royal Highness thinks that farmers in the south pay more food!"
Chen Zilong couldn't think of an answer, so he could only improvise an answer to frustrate him.
"Where are the other students? Who can figure it out?"
Chongzhen asked others again, presumably because he was not satisfied with Chen Zilong's answer.
"Replying to Your Majesty, the student thinks that His Highness the Prince knows that farming is not easy for farmers, and this action should be taken as a sign of sympathy for farmers!"
Peng Bin was worried that he had not found a chance to clear his name, so he hurriedly started talking.
“Students think there is a severe drought in the north, but there is no need for this!”
Chen Mingxia also saw that Peng Bin was already rushing to answer, so he couldn't turn a blind eye.
"The students think what Chen Mingxia said is reasonable!"
Xu Fuyuan nodded when he heard this and agreed with this explanation. After all, Chen Mingxia was the oldest among their group and naturally had richer experience.
Others have to follow suit. No further explanation is needed, just take what Chen Mingxia said. "Second ministers return to second ministers, this guy still has a lot of brains."
"The prince said to me, many areas in the north have been desolate for thousands of miles, and the disaster has caused people to change their sons and eat them. How can there be food to use for zese? Not to mention zese, even if farmers are exempted from the tax, there may not be a turn for the better. Only by vigorously promoting the work-relief policy can we turn the crisis around!"
I have to say that Chen Mingxia hit the nail on the head and was very clever.
But this is the kind of person who is too smart and unwilling to take the right path.
Through this question, Chongzhen's understanding of Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia changed slightly.
Perhaps these two potential traitors do not need to be severely punished. As long as you control them, they will always be used by you.
Chongzhen also asked the nunzi when he was in Beidu. The newspaper office was full of scholars and scholars, and the newspaper was compiled by them. The nunzi would not watch over it all the time.
But why are those Confucian scholars so obedient?
Chongzhen was puzzled, otherwise he would not have been so angry with the ministers below during court discussions...
The prince's answer was very simple, just four words - imperial literati!
But you have to be prepared to use this new term, otherwise these people will become wild horses that can't be controlled at all.
First of all, when selecting, you must choose those whose attitudes and opinions are similar to your own, and whose character and moral character are reliable. This is the duty of Prince Consort Gong Yonggu.
Secondly, you must understand that these people are eager to get Shenzhen. If you don’t give them what they want, and let them satisfy you, is this possible?
These people are not wood or stone. Like everyone else, they also hope to gain both fame and fortune. They can be famous by signing articles, and they can have enough food and clothing with a good monthly income.
There is no need to provide too high treatment, as long as it is better than ordinary scholars, and you can go to restaurants every week to have teeth and teeth, these people will be obedient to you.
These are the first two thresholds, which can be regarded as double insurance, but they are not enough. We have to do well in the future before we can sit back and relax.
The printing factory is supervised by factory guards. Every day, the newspaper office will send the printed manuscripts to the East Palace for personal review by the prince.
Finally, if something really happens, you need to check according to the process to find out whether it was done accidentally or intentionally!
Chongzhen looked at Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia, and suddenly felt that it would be good to accept these two as his imperial literati.
He was assigned to the Ministry of Etiquette and put on duty in the editorial team of the newly formed "Da Ming Daily".
The reason is very simple. These two people come from those gangs and naturally understand the views of those gangs.
In this way, you can write an article to refute it. Wouldn't this be more effective with half the effort?
"I think this policy is very good! Farmers have always been hardworking and diligent, but their income is meager. If this policy can be implemented, farmers will be able to avoid being exploited. I am very grateful to Your Majesty!"
The second assistant, Gao Hongtu, was the first to express his position. He knew his family's situation very well. There was an endless stream of wealthy households coming to donate, and below the wealthy households were farmers.
Regardless of whether you are a wealthy household or a farmer, as long as you do not have fame, you must give up your status.
"Zese" itself is not a big problem. The problem lies in the interlocking and intertwined interests.
If no one in the family can get ahead, they will suffer from exploitation.
According to the emperor's plan, the Gao family's annual income will actually be reduced a lot.
But after what happened just now, Gao Hongtu already had more lofty ambitions and didn't care about these yellow and white things like floating clouds.
Now that I am a loyal person, I might become a loyal hero in the future. I have already given away one hundred thousand taels. Do I still care about this little money?
Xue Guoguan, the chief assistant of the Beiting, also had a lot of money. However, the prince ordered his house to be confiscated because his daughter was outstanding and attracted the attention of the prince. Now Xue Guoguan, an unlearned and unskilled thing, has secured the position of chief assistant.
He is the second assistant of the Southern Court, and his family background is not lower than that of Xue Guoguan. He has no granddaughter, but he has a granddaughter. Whatever Xue Guoguan has, he has it himself. I can do what Xue Guoguan knows, and I can do what Xue Guoguan cannot.
Gao Hongtu does not seek to be the first assistant, as long as he can sit firmly in the second assistant position, he will be satisfied.
A loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty is still a secondary assistant. What more can I ask for in my lifetime? ? ?
Rumor has it that Xue Guoguan is the prince's yes man, and he agrees with everything the prince says.
That's it?
For me, that is too easy!
Coaxing the emperor was divided into day and night. The night was naturally the business of the concubines, and the day was the business of the ministers.
Since these suggestions made by the emperor are for the good of Ming Dynasty, the good of the court, and the good of the people, why should he stand in the way?
Zhongliang does not have to go against the current in everything, bragging about his beard and glaring at the emperor, and confronting him!
From this point of view, it seems that Xue Guoguan knows how to be a minister!
Gao Hongtu had heard before that Xue Guoguan gave Chongzhen the idea of confiscating the property of nobles and replenishing Taicang, but Chongzhen did not dare to do it.
Now the prince not only did it, but also had a great harvest. With this, he organized his troops and defeated Huang Taiji's army of 300,000 men.
Xue Guoguan naturally became a meritorious minister, and with his daughter about to become the crown princess, his status in the court was really more stable than Mount Tai.
This assistant position was recommended by the prince. There are already successful cases, and it is not an exaggeration to imitate them.
"I agree with what the Second Assistant said, which will reduce the burden on farmers and contribute to the stability of the court!"
The family of the first assistant Qu Shishu also received a lot of donations, otherwise he would not be able to get five thousand taels of silver just from being an official without receiving benefits.
The person who accepts the donation is not a person who can't distinguish between right and wrong, just like being an errand in the court, the good guys and the bad guys can only be distinguished in the line or work.
The reason why Qu Shishu agreed was that he knew what was happening in the area under the jurisdiction of Beiting and had to make comprehensive considerations.
If only Sichuan has a good harvest in the northern eight corners of the country, Huguang has become a battlefield, so we should not place high hopes on it.
In view of this, if another trouble occurs in the south, it will not be able to provide sufficient food, and the two imperial courts in the north and south will inevitably be unstable.
The purpose of canceling the "color discount" is to ensure the smooth progress of this year's grain collection in the south.
The food planned to be provided to Beiting alone amounts to five million dan, and the rest is the private land of Nanting.
Every year, the south uses water transportation to transport nearly three million dan of grain to the north.
In the early days of this dynasty, the amount of grain arriving in the north via water transport amounted to more than 4.5 million shi.
There are so many important things going on this year, and all forces are turbulent. Whether it will live up to the expectations of the imperial court is yet to be seen.
As the chief assistant of the Southern Court, Qu Shishu could only do his best and obey fate.
As long as the food can be harvested in this way, the rest will be easy to handle.
If water transportation is not possible, sea transportation can be used. The prince and Zheng Zhilong have a close relationship, so it will be easier to borrow Zheng's fleet to transport food.
"Your Majesty, I have a concern and I don't know whether I should address it or not?"
Seeing that both the second assistant and the first assistant approved this method, Zheng Sanjun, the Minister of Household Affairs, hurriedly came out.
If it really needs to be implemented, the Hubu Department will be the first to bear the brunt. If something goes wrong, the emperor will take action on the Hubu Department first.
