Although Shaanxi's new tax policy was implemented, conflicts between the emperor and the cabinet began to emerge.
Originally Xie Minhong didn't want to take care of it, but Gao Moling persuaded him not to read Han Wei's jokes:
"As for the people in Shaanxi: Jiang Cunli is from Shandong, Wei Su is from Henan, Wu Xianxian is from Liaodong, and although Shen You was born in Yancheng, he is an old subordinate of Li Weisan.
If they take care of Shaanxi's cuisine, the people in the north will be arrogant. Do you think this is a good thing? "
As a result, Xie Minhong and Han Wei rarely stood together and questioned these two documents. Xie Minhong's reason was that it was a waste of people's resources and increased expenditure, while Han said more simply that there was no precedent and the risks were unpredictable.
Gu Lin didn't think so, and it didn't involve his military department much anyway. Yizhongsheng was worried about those who had not paid taxes being sent to various prisons for servitude. If there was a sudden increase in tax arrears in a disaster year, the Penal Department would not be able to cope with it.
After hearing this, the emperor proposed countermeasures at the imperial meeting:
First, he took out Li Dan's secret information, regarding the number of additional official positions that need to be created in Shaanxi to implement these two documents, increasing the expenditure budget, and ways to absorb the above expenses, especially the increase in retention and payment in Shaanxi after the increase in taxes. , how to ensure that the increased expenses are within the scope of withdrawal, etc. Xie Minhong was left speechless.
Then Zhao Tuo criticized Han for not daring to take the lead in innovation. Any new policy introduced by the ancients had precedents to follow. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty created the imperial examination. Did the Han Dynasty have an imperial examination?
A burst of firepower made Han Wei sweat so hard that he dared not express his objection clearly. Finally, the cabinet agreed to take it back for discussion and communication.
Unexpectedly, after Zhao Tuo waited for several days, the cabinet turned out to be a drag.
He sent someone to inquire about Gu Lin's mother's birthday celebrations and asked him about the deliberations in the cabinet. He learned that Han and Xie were looking for various excuses to find faults and excuses, and the emperor couldn't help it. This topic was asked again at the new imperial meeting and severely criticized.
This time he came up with an idea (which Li Dan taught in Mi Zheli) about the punishment department's worries. Aren't you worried that you won't be able to handle it?
It doesn't matter, we set up labor camps and divide the tax arrears into three grades. The serious ones are handed over to the labor camps under the Provincial Inspectorate, the second grade ones are handed over to the government, and the third grade ones are left to the county. The county labor camp is maintained by the execution room management and regiment training.
The government and the inspection department are maintained by the guards. In this way, the people are dispersed, and they are managed according to the severity of the situation. The regiment training and health centers in various places also have serious things to do.
Labor camps are actually prisons. This concept satisfied both the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of War. Not only has the problem been solved, but the powers of the two departments have been enlarged to a certain extent, and the use of redundant officials and idle personnel in the health center has also been solved.
Seeing this, Han Wei raised new questions, believing that doing so was undoubtedly akin to forcing taxes, and could easily lead to rebelliousness among those who owe taxes in various places, or could cause new unrest.
Xie Minhong pointed out that Shaanxi has been in tax arrears for a long time. Many families with arrears were forced to transfer their land to wealthy gentry, either as tenants or as hidden households. What should be done with the debts owed by these people in the past? Should they continue to recover or be written off?
Zhao Tuo became impatient when they raised new questions, saying that he wanted the cabinet to negotiate and communicate, but after so many days, you still brought the question to me and asked me if I hadn't done anything yet?
You all promised well when Li Dan left, but now you have a different attitude. What is the use of a cabinet like this if you don't keep your words?
After saying that, he left the ministers and got up and returned to the palace. After that, he refused to attend the imperial meeting for three or four consecutive meeting days.
Han Wei became frightened when he saw more and more memorials. He went to Zheng Shou's mansion to discuss it, and then went into the palace alone to hand over a sign and ask for the Empress Dowager's greetings.
The Queen Mother listened to what he said and asked him: "You just mentioned the ministers in the cabinet. Shouldn't there be five people? Why only four?"
"Zhu Youtao has retired pending an investigation, so His Majesty has not appointed a new candidate yet." Han Wei replied.
"Then who does Mr. Han recommend to join the cabinet?"
Hearing the Queen Mother's question, Han Wei was stunned for a moment. He first did not expect that the Queen Mother would care about the number of cabinet members, and he was not prepared to discuss the selection issue here. When asked suddenly, he hesitated and said:
"Zheng Tonglan is currently the direct bachelor of Tongshan Pavilion and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. I think he is a suitable candidate."
"Um
. Now that someone has been selected, you should let His Majesty know as early as possible. The cabinet of four people has not been completed for so long. I can't blame the Emperor for being angry with you. "After the Empress Dowager finished speaking angrily, she asked Han Wei to go back first:
"You came to me just because His Majesty was angry and cold-blooded you, but don't have any grudges. The situation in Shaanxi is deteriorating day by day. How can the cabinet not have a unified opinion on the memorial?
After all, it is the most important province in the west of the empire. You should put national affairs first and come to a conclusion with your colleagues earlier. "
Han Wei came out to think carefully and understood the Queen Mother's intention. Sure enough, Zhao Tuo showed up at the next imperial meeting. "Concerning the shortage of members in the cabinet, the chief assistant recommended Zheng Shou to join the cabinet. Do you have any different opinions?"
Seeing that none of the three people had spoken, Zhao Tuo asked, "Let's talk about the two documents from Shaanxi first. Do you have any objections?"
"I have no objection." Han Wei replied immediately.
Zheng Shou's entry into the cabinet caught Xie Minhong off guard. He was not prepared to deal with this topic. Before he could counterattack, Han Wei agreed to Shaanxi's memorial, and immediately Gu Lin and Yizhong Sheng also expressed no objection.
Xie Minhong felt that everyone's eyes were focused on him. After some struggle, he had no choice but to bow: "My lord, I have no objection." However, he immediately hit back with a knife:
"Master Zheng has entered the cabinet. I suggest that the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Nanjing be transferred to Beijing to take over. Then the Minister of Civil Affairs of Nanjing can be replaced by Yang Zhong, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry."
The Minister of Civil Affairs in Nanjing was from Fujian. Xie Minhong wanted to seize the opportunity to capture the Ministry of Civil Affairs. At the same time, he used overt and covert promotions to drive Yang Zhong, who was forming the third force in the court, to Nanjing and sit on the bench.
Zhao Tuo was already aware of the clique phenomenon among his courtiers from his exchange with Li Dan. In Li Dan's words, this kind of small group cannot be eliminated, but it cannot be allowed to grow bigger.
The formation of powerful parties with their own interests and ideologies is detrimental to the stability of the court; but without a monolithic small group, the imperial power will be threatened by governance.
When Zhao Tuo saw Xie Minhong's statement, he understood clearly and said:
"Is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing a powerful person in the Jin Dynasty? He is a square man. I know that he is a good person to succeed Zheng Qing! However, Yang Qing is young and there are still some shortcomings to be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The cabinet will draw up a separate vote to see." It was rejected. Yangzhong's proposal to go to Jinling.
Soon, several documents related to the new bank and new banknotes came from Shaanxi. Zheng Shou now understood that this was the double act played by the emperor and Li Dan.
Since it was definitely going to be passed, he hoped to complete it while the Ministry of Accounts was still in his hands, and did not want to leave his achievements to those who came after him, so these documents were passed with almost no suspense.
What the emperor got was a tacit agreement with the cabinet. In Zhu Zhanzhen's case, he was only fined three thousand taels of silver for his negligence in making friends, and then the emperor asked him to go to the Tongwen Library to preside over the translation and publication of foreign books.
Li Dan did not know these details, but he roughly learned about the disputes that had occurred in the court and the disputes between the Jinghu and Jiangnan factions from the emperor's secret letter sent to him by Xingrensi.
At the same time, I also learned from Shen Jie's letter that Yang Zhong, Sun Fu and other young and strong factions were angered by Xie Minhong. They quickly submitted an impeachment against Gao Moling in the court, saying that he took the Zhongshu scroll home without authorization.
The emperor handed him over to Dali Temple. As a result of the trial, Gao Moling was convicted of leaking secrets and beheaded. At this time, Zhao Tuo gave Xie Minhong face again, saying that since this man was capable, he should be demoted to Yazhou as the county magistrate. In one sentence, he was sent to Qiongya (Hainan Island).
When the Biao camp finally arrived, Xi'an citizens, officials and merchants were so excited that they rushed to the streets to watch. But when I saw a long convoy and horse team, when the forward left the east gate (Yongning Gate), the tail of the team was still entering the city through the north gate (Anyuan Gate).
"Good boy, there are so many cars and horses!" someone shouted.
The infantrymen on the vehicle all wore cowhide half-length armor covered with soft chainmail armor, and carried blazing guns with bright bayonets in their arms. They sat in two rows facing each other. The cavalry were wearing barbarian plate armor, carrying knives to control horses, holding long lances, and wearing green cloaks.
"Look, look, what is that? General's gun?"
"It's not like that. It's thinner than the general's gun and has a longer body."
The artillery team rumbled past, barrels pointing backwards, dragging ammunition carts with them. The artillerymen sitting in the front carriages had their nostrils turned up in triumph. Then there are the medical team, the heavy transport team, the guards, the governor...
"How spectacular! Today I know why Mr. Li said that Biaoying is the best soldier in the world!" Shen You was invited to the south side of Dongmen Street next to the Ganqing Xingdu Si Mansion. She watched the Biaoying enter the city with a group of officials upstairs at the Linyuan Building Restaurant. He patted the railing excitedly and said:
"Master Li will equip the Western Army with two regiments according to this standard. This is what he promised me personally, and he promised it himself!"
Wei Luo quietly said to Jiang Cunli: "The whole army has no golden drums, only flutes and whistles, but it has the momentum of ten thousand people. It seems that Master Li's intimidation effect has been obvious.
I'm afraid this army alone is enough to suppress the Zodiac Sect. But Mr. Li told Governor Shen that he would reorganize some new armies in Shaanxi. I'm afraid it wouldn't be as simple as fighting a few Zodiacs, right? "
"What does Yigong (characterized by Wei Lu) want to say?"
Wei Li opened the bowl in his hand, dipped his fingers in some tea, and wrote the words "fan" and "leaf" on the railing. Jiang Cunli raised his eyebrows in surprise but said nothing.
The Biao camp was stationed out from Yongning Gate in the vast camp area newly circled on the west side of Wuji Temple in Dongkuo City. Li Dan's governor's mansion and traveling palace were located outside the east wall of Yuantong Temple, and they lived adjacent to each other.
These two places were originally two temples. The one in the west was once a Yellow Sect temple. When the previous dynasty overthrew, the monks organized monk soldiers, but the temple was abandoned by the current dynasty. After Gao Can arrived, he hired craftsmen to renovate the palace, including offices and residences for generals.
Next door was originally a Taoist temple, but it was abandoned after the Jingnan period. It happened that there was a forest behind it, which was turned into a garden and used as a camp for the imperial envoys. There is a fireproof passage between the two that is large enough for two carriages to pass side by side, and the door can be opened on the wall to pass through.
Li Dan's large-scale entry into the city was indeed a shock. On the same day, several people quietly left the city and went north to find Master Shaotian to report the news. But at this moment, Shaotianshi himself was at a loss as the wind direction changed before they even approached Puzhou City.
The instructions issued by the Dusi to various military depots and garrison stations gradually arrived in various places. The newly established regiment training assisted each garrison station and fort to set up checkpoints and check road guides. All ferry crossings and Guancheng passes are closed, only ingress and egress are prohibited;
Pedestrians without road guides must be registered. After paying two fees, they can receive a temporary road guide before they can barely reach the adjacent township. Then they must pay again to apply for a road guide that is valid within the township;
Team drills at various locations will check pedestrian guides at any time. Those without guides can be detained and handed over to the Inspection Department for questioning.
A series of measures quickly formed a large network around Gyeonggi. Two meals a day and a salary of five yuan allowed many idle people to join the team training. Although it caused inconvenience to travel, it was extremely effective in mobilizing the masses.
The flow of people has been greatly reduced in almost one or two days and nights. The migrants who have no roads and no money are trapped in the local area, either dredging the city and protecting the city for the government, or participating in the construction of labor camps, or repairing guardhouses, Pass facilities, etc.
The first sum of two hundred thousand taels allocated by Li Dan to Shen You made most of Shaanxi move.
At the same time, each county submitted all the prisoners who were imprisoned for rent arrears and tax arrears, and handed them along with their case records to the officials stationed by the Ministry of Justice. They were then informed of the number of days they needed to be credited for their labor service, and they agreed to it in their case closing documents. They pressed fingerprints and paintings on them and concentrated them on the official road construction line from outside the Beiguo Gate of Xi'an Waikou City to Baqiao, Lintong, Gaoling, Fuping and Tongchuan.
Here they work hard, and after working for a full number of days, they can be released home with guidance and tolls.
"What's wrong with the monk? Should monks break the law and be able to do whatever they want?" A guard general waved his hand: "Go, go, don't bother anymore. After you have done as much work as you need to do, I will let you go home. Tell me where you want to go." Wouldn't it be easier to leave once we get the road guide and tolls?
It doesn't work now. You have to continue carrying stones to repair the wall. I don't want to embarrass you. It's just a total of 12 and a half days of work for 27 yuan.
We act in accordance with the law and do not violate the rules at all. Whatever is stipulated above, we will do it! "After he finished speaking, he pressed the handle of the knife and turned around to do other things.
"Master, it seems we won't be able to escape for a while? How about we kill a few and we can escape?" the Archmage whispered.
. He and Shaotian Shi Baorui fell into the hands of a group of regiment practitioners. Because there was no way to lead them, they were told to go to the township office for questioning. Unexpectedly, the guard station was notified soon and more than a dozen soldiers came and took them and other soldiers. Seven or eight people who were detained for the same reason were brought back to the guardhouse. .z.
Only here did they realize that it was not as simple as coming to open a road guide. Instead, they had to pay two yuan according to the new law and then pay a fine of twenty-five yuan before they could receive the new road guide. Those who paid the fine and accepted the fine left.
They are dressed as monks. How can any monk carry money with them? There were some membership tickets sewn into the clothes, but if the monk was caught walking around with thousands of coins, he would still be cheated, so neither of them dared to take them out to pay the fine.
As a result, he had no choice but to accept his punishment and work for them in the guardhouse, repairing walls and lifting stones. He had to work for twelve and a half days before leaving.
These two are tortured! After finally meeting the guard commander, I wanted to ask him to show mercy and let him go, but he didn't agree.
But no, this wall hasn’t been repaired in many years. Now that we finally have some money and manpower, how can the sentry commander let it go so easily?
The two of them were sweating profusely, and I cursed the captain countless times in my heart. "When I go out and gather the troops, I have to come back and wipe out this guard station!" Master Shaotian whispered viciously.
The Archmage said "Shh", looked around and lowered his voice and said:
"Master, I heard from two guardsmen who were chatting that Li Dan brought a battalion of several thousand people from nowhere. They were all brightly armored and extremely capable. I guess he brought a unit of the Liao Army. He has been transferred to Shaanxi, and he must be here for us!"
"That's terrible!" Shaotian Shi Baorui said in surprise, "If that's the case, let's run away! Brother Hei San and the others may suffer a loss if they don't get the news, so they have to hurry up and deliver the message!"
The next day, the sentry found that the two monks were missing and hurried to report to the sentry commander. "You bastards are so bald. I haven't treated them badly. Why are they running away with such delicious food?" The captain cursed angrily, and finally waved his hand:
"Whatever they want, I will be merciful until they are caught again. Don't worry, they won't be able to escape very far if there is no way to lead them!"
But he didn't expect that others would gain wisdom after suffering a loss, so he no longer dared to waddle off the main road and took a small path to cross the mountains instead.
