In Wenyuan Pavilion, several pavilion elders from this dynasty gathered here.
"The disaster in Luanzhou is serious and it should not be delayed any longer. The Ministry of Revenue needs to send money and food to Luanzhou for disaster relief as soon as possible." Han Xu said to the first assistant Ye Xianggao.
If you want the Ministry of Household Affairs to provide money and grain, it can only be allocated with the approval of the chief minister.
However, before Ye Xianggao could say anything, he saw Zhu Guozhen, a scholar from Wuyingdian Palace, saying: "All the money and food from the imperial court were sent to Liaodong. It has long been unable to provide money and food for disaster relief. Otherwise, Datong and Xuanfu would not have been allowed to go to Datong and Xuanfu last year." Raise money and food to expand the frontier camp."
He is a bachelor of Wuyingdian and concurrently serves as the Minister of Household Affairs.
No one knows the situation of the Ministry of Households better than him. The imperial court has long started to eat grains, and the Ministry of Households is even more empty and can run away with rats.
"Even if the Ministry of Revenue finds a way to squeeze it out from other places, it will still be squeezed out." Han Xu said in a fierce tone, "Luanzhou is very close to the capital. If the government's disaster relief money and food are not sent, the ones waiting to come will be Luanzhou. Disaster victims come to the capital."
Peiping was the political center of the Ming Dynasty. Once there were disaster-stricken places nearby, local people would only think that they could survive by fleeing to the capital.
Refugees in all dynasties are the same. Even if they go out to beg for food, they know to go to prosperous places, and the capital is a place where many people can find a living.
Zhu Guozhen shook his head and said: "It's useless to force me, I can't change the money or food."
In a word, no money.
Money was used all over the imperial court. He, the Minister of Household Affairs, had just taken office, and he had to find ways to raise money and grain every day to support the salaries of the officials in the court.
Not only that, Liaodong also needs a lot of money and food every year. Among the six departments, he, the Minister of Household Affairs, is in the most trouble.
"What are you talking about? You are in charge of the household department. If you don't ask for money and food for disaster relief, who else can you turn to?" Han Xu's face turned ugly.
Zhu Guozhen did not care about Han Xu's expression at all, and continued: "The places that suffered this time are Luanzhou, Jizhou, Yongping, Xin'an, Zhending Prefecture, Zunhua, Hejian Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture, including three in Tianjin Many places, including Wei and Shandong, were affected by the disaster. In so many places, they all relied on the court's money and food for disaster relief. I'm afraid even a few million taels would not be enough. Did you know that the court's annual tax revenue was only a few million taels."
"You mean to just ignore it and let the victims fend for themselves? Aren't you afraid of causing a disaster?" Han Xu said angrily.
Disaster victims will get into trouble if they don't have food to eat.
People living in the palace may not understand, but they know very well that once someone confuses the victims, there is likely to be another turmoil.
When the Wenxiang Sect rebelled, it was because of a natural disaster that the people were bewitched and coaxed into attacking the county seat and raising the banner of rebellion.
Zhu Guozhen's face also turned ugly.
It's not his problem that Hu Bu has no money. Now Han Xu doesn't give him any face in front of so many people, which makes him feel very uncomfortable.
Although he is not ranked higher than Han Xu in the cabinet ranking, he is still one of the cabinet members.
Ahem!
Ye Xianggao, who was sitting in the main seat, coughed, interrupting the quarrel between the two people.
When everyone present looked at him, they only heard him say: "The Ministry of Household Affairs will find a way to squeeze in and send some money and food to Luanzhou for disaster relief. As for other places where the disaster is not too serious, order the local government to provide disaster relief on their own." .”
"Now that the Ministry of Revenue really can't come up with money, it's not because the lower officials are prevaricating. Moreover, we have to use troops against the Tiger Flag this year, which is another expense." Zhu Guozhen said with a bitter face.
Make bricks without straw.
Money was used everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. The tax money just received by the Ministry of Revenue was almost immediately spent after changing hands, and the Ministry of Revenue had no chance to save it.
"The Ministry of Finance will leave some emergency money, so use that money first!" Ye Xianggao said.
Zhu Guozhen nodded reluctantly.
He could argue with Han Xu about disaster relief, but as the chief assistant, Ye Xianggao proposed to use the Ministry's money for disaster relief, so he could only obey.
Gu Bingqian, who was sitting at the head of a few people, smiled and said, "Is there a way for me to help the court get some money for disaster relief?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, several pavilion elders looked at him.
"Even the household department can't provide money or food, what can you do!" Han Xu made no secret of his disgust for Gu Bingqian.
Among the cabinet, the one he disliked the most was Gu Bingqian, the eunuch who defected to Wei Zhongxian.
"Grandmaster Gu has also seen the current situation in the court, so if you have any ideas, just tell me. If it works, it can be considered as sharing the worries of the court." Ye Xianggao said in a calm tone.
As the chief minister, even though he also disliked Gu Bingqian, he could not ridicule him like Han Xu. Instead, he had to find ways to bridge the relationship between cabinet members, avoid fights as much as possible, and maintain the stability of the court.
Gu Bingqian ignored Han Xu, but turned to Ye Xianggao and said, "Liaodong is asking for more money and grain every time. The lower official thinks that the money and grain sent to Liaodong can be postponed and used to provide disaster relief to various places first. In this way, , the imperial court will have money and food for disaster relief."
"Nonsense!" Han Xu's face sank and he said coldly, "The money and food sent to Liaodong cannot be touched, and Shanhaiguan is also affected by the disaster. What if the slave thieves send troops at this time? Without money and food, how can the soldiers in Liaodong resist the slave thieves? Army.”
Gu Bingqian said disapprovingly: "It's just that the money and grain are temporarily sent to Liaodong. It doesn't mean that the money and grain in Liaodong are cut off. It won't be too late to wait for the Ministry of Household Affairs to collect the tax money before sending it to Liaodong."
"Absolutely not." Han Xu said loudly, "I don't agree with the misappropriation of Liaodong's money and food."
As he spoke, he looked at Ye Xianggao.
Ye Xianggao waved his hand and said: "Grandmaster Gu's method can indeed alleviate the problem of money and food for disaster relief, but it is not conducive to the Ming Dynasty's resistance to slave thieves in Liaodong. Once the lack of money and food leads to a mutiny in Liaodong, it will be a big deal."
He rejected Gu Bingqian's proposal.
Sun Chengzong, the supervisor who was in charge of the overall situation in Liaodong, was a member of the Donglin Party with him. As the leader of the Donglin Party, it was impossible for him to undermine his own people.
And in his heart, although it was important to appease the victims, it was not as important as dealing with the slaves and thieves.
The local government's failure to provide disaster relief would only turn the victims into refugees and cause local unrest, but the imperial court could send troops to quell the unrest at any time. On the contrary, the slave thieves in Liaodong had become a serious problem for the Ming Dynasty, far more serious than the problems of some refugees.
"The lower official just wants to solve the problem of money and food for disaster relief. Since the chief minister doesn't agree, let's forget it." Gu Bingqian said nonchalantly.
The reason why I want to make suggestions is just to show my presence.
The cabinet is all members of the Donglin Party, and he is the only one who is not. If he doesn't even have suggestions, then he, a bachelor, has no sense of existence.
Ye Xianggao said: "I will go to see the Holy One later and try to persuade the Holy One to allocate some money from the inner treasury for disaster relief. Before that, the Ministry of Household Affairs needs to allocate part of the money and grain for disaster relief."
"I will go back to the household department and ask the two ministers to allocate money and food." Zhu Guozhen nodded and responded.
