Wuying Palace.
There was only silence here at this moment. Zhu Biao looked at Yang Xuan with a look of worry on his face.
After all, Hongwu only had a salary increase once in thirteen years.
He knew his father, this matter might not be that easy.
Lao Zhu stared at Yang Xuan, his face uncertain.
He's thinking about it.
Although he did not like officials, he still cared about the people.
"Yang Xuan." After a long time, Lao Zhu said, "You reviewed the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue last year."
"You should understand that after one year, the imperial court has almost no surplus."
"What can you do to increase your salary?"
In fact, according to Lao Zhu's plan, it would be best to wait until Zhu Biao succeeds to do this kind of thing.
He took advantage of his reign to save more wealth for his son.
He knew in his heart that many people said that the salary he offered was too low. If a few people said this, it could be regarded as a complaint, but if most people said so, it meant that it was really low.
The imperial court is not rich now, and Lao Zhu is powerless in many things.
As the saying goes, a penny can stump a heroic man!
If Yang Xuan hadn't told him about the disadvantages of treasure money back then, he wouldn't be worried about money now.
If you are short of money, just print.
Print as many as are missing.
Now, he doesn't dare to be so unscrupulous.
After all, this will damage the credibility of the court and the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty.
After hearing Lao Zhu's words, Yang Xuan organized the words in his mind.
He said, "Your Majesty, we might as well settle the score."
"How much does Your Majesty spend on fighting corruption every year?"
"And how much will it cost to increase the salary?"
Hearing this, Lao Zhu and Zhu Biao silently calculated in their hearts.
It’s not that I don’t know, it’s a shock.
The annual cost of fighting corruption is more than the salary given to officials!
At this time, Yang Xuan said again: "Your Majesty, increasing the salary can prevent some officials who originally did not want to be corrupt from being corrupt, and it can also save a lot of money in fighting corruption."
"The money saved can be used to increase officials' salaries."
“Isn’t it the best of both worlds?”
“Furthermore, it can also reduce the pressure to fight corruption.”
After calculating this account, Lao Zhu and Zhu Biao also knew it in their hearts.
Increasing salary will bring great benefits.
It can also make the administration of officials new.
"Of course, those who should be greedy will still be greedy, but there should no longer be cases where people become corrupt only if they can't survive."
Yang Xuan finally said.
Lao Zhu nodded, and then looked at Zhu Biao beside him: "Biao'er, go down and write the note, and bring it up at the meeting tomorrow."
"Let's discuss together to increase the salaries of lower-level officials."
"Father is a wise man." Zhu Biao complimented.
In this way, it can also comfort the officials who are panicking because of Guo Huan's case.
"Okay, stop talking nonsense. Yang Xuan came up with the idea. It has nothing to do with us." Lao Zhu did not take the credit.
Taking this opportunity, he also wanted to help Zhu Biao improve his prestige.
"Yang Xuan, you did a good job on the Guo Huan case, and now you have helped reduce the pressure on us to fight corruption."
"Tell me, what reward do you want?"
Lao Zhu asked Yang Xuan again.
Hearing this, Yang Xuan looked at Lao Zhu and then at Zhu Biao.
The latter gave him a wink, saying that he could take advantage of his father's good mood to get some benefits.
After all, Yang Xuan has a lot of credit for Lao Zhu's backlog.
With Zhu Biao's hint, Yang Xuan was relieved.
He spoke slowly: "Your Majesty, can you reward me with some money?"
As soon as the words came out, Lao Zhu's face turned dark instantly.
Damn it, if I ask you to speak, you really dare to speak!
It hit his weak spot immediately.
He doesn’t have much money, but has more places to spend it.
Zhu Biao was also stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that this was what Yang Xuan wanted.
But this is in line with Yang Xuan's temperament.
Sensing Lao Zhu's expression, Yang Xuan carefully changed his words: "Your Majesty, how about... forget it?"
"Hey, you think we have no money, right?" Lao Zhu saw Yang Xuan's thoughts and said with a dark face.
"No, I don't mean that." Yang Xuan shook his head quickly.
"Hmph!" Lao Zhu snorted, and then said: "I will reward you with half of the stolen money you handed over last time, so as not to worry about it."
He knows that Yang Xuan likes money.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yang Xuan's face was filled with joy.
Unexpectedly, there was a surprise. You know, the stolen money handed over last time was two to three hundred thousand taels, half of which was a lot.
"Go away, we'll get upset when we see you." Lao Zhu waved his hand to drive them away.
"I excuse myself." Yang Xuanma slipped away.
He didn't want to stay with Lao Zhu for too long. He had a repetitive personality. One moment he was sullen and wanted to kill someone, and the next moment he gave him a sweet date. Who knows what was going on in his mind.
Seeing Yang Xuan leave, Lao Zhu complained to Zhu Biao: "Look at you, how have you spoiled this kid?"
"How dare you ask for money in front of us."
He still feels a little worried about his money.
"Father, wouldn't you still give it to me?" Zhu Biao retorted, holding back his laughter.
"Did we give it to him? We gave it to our daughter." Lao Zhu refused to admit it, and this was the only way to make him feel better.
However, I am very satisfied with Yang Xuan in my heart. I have always seen Yang Xuan's performance.
He is neither arrogant nor impetuous, and can handle everything assigned to him very well.
The most important thing is that Yang Xuan is not greedy for power.
Every time he brings troops back, he will hand over the military power immediately.
This is what Lao Zhu is most relieved about.
Because Yang Xuan is not only his son-in-law, but also a relative.
When his eldest son comes to power, he, Yang Xuan, will be inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people.
If it were a power-hungry relative, Biao'er might be ignored.
Lao Zhu would never allow that to happen.
…
The next day, there was a court meeting.
Zhu Biao went to court and said that the reason why such a major case as the Guo Huan case occurred was that the salaries of low-level officials were too low.
Ask Lao Zhu to increase the salaries of lower-level officials.
What Zhu Biao said made the officials below the fourth rank extremely moved.
The last time the salary was adjusted, the benefits basically went to senior officials above the fourth rank. They just drank some soup.
Now, is it finally their turn to eat meat?
But the final outcome of this matter still depends on the person sitting on the dragon throne.
Officials below the fourth rank carefully observed Lao Zhu's reaction secretly.
Officials of fourth rank and above have nothing to do with their own affairs.
They have enough money, and Lao Zhu gave them the privilege of not paying for food. There is no shortage of money at all, and there are rewards during the holidays.
Moreover, they did not think that Lao Zhu would agree to increase his salary.
Regarding the salary adjustment in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Baiguan and Lao Zhu had to confront each other for how long before they succeeded.
It's only been a few years, so you can't agree just because the prince proposed it, right?
Therefore, some people stood up to refute Zhu Biao, saying that the salary had been adjusted and now it was being adjusted again. It must be that the people below were not satisfied, so they incited the prince to report.
There are only a few such people. They think they have guessed Lao Zhu's thoughts and want to express themselves.
Officials below the fourth rank secretly cursed these people.
It’s his mother’s fault! Shameless old thief!
Lao Zhu looked at these conspicuous bags and thought to himself, these people jumped out at this time. Could it be that they have objections to our Biao'er?
It seems I can’t stay!
…
