Wang Shouren followed Wang Hao to Beijing in the first lunar month.
As the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, Wang Hao needed to participate in major events in March. Fujian was a long way away, so he set off early.
The emperor summoned people to the palace in the evening. As this happened more and more often, many ministers became accustomed to it.
Only some critical censors are still complaining to the emperor. That means that the inheritance of heirs is also a part of the emperor's government affairs, and it is a very important part. Your Majesty cannot favor one thing over another.
When Wang Shouren packed up his things and entered the palace, his family members reminded him of this, saying, "I'm afraid some officials will take advantage of this to make a memorial."
Wang Shouren felt very dissatisfied. The emperor attached great importance to state affairs and summoned his ministers to report to him more often than the previous emperors. How could he, as a minister, have such concerns at this time?
So Wang Shouren lost his temper and kicked the housekeeper out of the house. Scholars sometimes have such a stubborn temper.
The Beijing circle is so big, as long as this matter has some topicality, it will start to spread immediately.
However, Wang Shouren didn't care so much. He went back to his house to take a bath, put on his official uniform, and went to see the emperor very formally.
When he arrived, he could only wait in the attendant's room.
Wang Shouren was greatly shocked because there was Fei Hong, the Sichuan chief envoy, waiting in line before him.
Wang Xian, Xie Pi and Yan Song in the attendant's room were also very busy at this time.
Fei Hong is in charge of the civil affairs of a province, and His Majesty is obviously paying special attention to provincial officials. Wang Shouren also knows that Fei Hong was the number one scholar in the 23rd year of Chenghua. Although he is only four years older than him, he is still a proper senior, so he still Extremely respectful.
"Confiscation."
Fei Hong also knew Wang Shouren and gestured with his hand, "You don't need to be polite when you are involved in politics. Is everything okay with Mr. Dehui?"
Dehui is Wang Shouren's father.
Wang Hua served as You Yude in Zhan Shifu, while Fei Hong was Zuo Zanshan at that time. To put it bluntly, he was the old leader. You still have to say something when you encounter certain situations.
"Thank you very much for your concern, my father. Everything is going well."
"That's good."
Wang Shouren couldn't figure out the situation. When the eunuch went to deliver the order, he thought he was in a hurry, but everyone was waiting here, "Zi Congong, are you going back to Beijing to report on your duties?"
"That's right. Recently, governors from various places and officials from the third department have come to Beijing one after another. Your Majesty has previously issued a decree to summon them separately."
Wang Shouren sighed, "Your Majesty's diligence can be compared with that of Taizu. You can truly be called the benevolent king of our Ming Dynasty."
Looking back at the three people in the attendant's room, most of them looked busy.
Yan Song didn't know what he wrote and showed it to Wang Xian. Wang Xian scanned it roughly, pointed at it and said, "Tone more seriously. His Majesty was a little angry at the time. It's better to ask them to reply as soon as possible."
"yes."
Fei Hong probably came first, so he knew a little bit about it, so he said to Wang Shouren: "I just heard a few days ago that Ji Yinghe, the chief envoy of Guangdong, was unable to answer when His Majesty asked about the number of households, acres of land, and taxes. Your Majesty was quite upset. Being angry also makes those who come after you extremely nervous, for fear of making a fool of yourself in front of the king."
Wang Shouren was shocked again.
It seems that this report is no less than a Beijing inspection, and the Beijing inspection has ways to manipulate it. If you can't show your ability in front of you, you will be in trouble.
But looking at the presence of old god Fei Hong, he should be very confident.
Not long after, an old man with half a century of hair came out of the main hall wiping sweat. Accompanying him was Liu Jin, the eunuch beside the emperor.
Liu Jin was surprised when she saw Wang Shouren, "Wang Bo'an has arrived."
"I met my father-in-law."
"No need."
The way Liu Jin looked at him was obviously different. Fei Hong felt a little surprised.
However, Liu Jin still followed the order and invited Fei Hong first, "Mr. Fei, please invite me."
Wang Shouren just stood up and sat down again, and then his eyes fell on the old man in the corridor outside the door. Seeing that he was shaking slightly when walking, he wanted to help him.
But I heard a voice behind me reminding me that it was Xie Pi who was speaking, "Don't worry about the king's participation in politics. I should ask your majesty a few key questions. As long as you don't tell lies, there will be no problem."
"lie?"
Not long after, Jin Gui walked in and handed the records to Xie Pi, "With that in mind, remember to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs tomorrow to verify whether these figures are accurate."
Xie Pi stood up and took it with both hands, "Yes."
After the explanation, Jin Gui turned back.
Xie Pi explained: "Some people are nervous when they meet the Holy Spirit, and some people are nervous when they lie. They only judge people's talents by stuttering or not being able to play smoothly. His Majesty feels that he will wrong some ministers who are not good at talking, so he will judge them afterwards." Verify some of the data you asked. As long as you don’t deliberately lie, His Majesty will not pursue it."
The Attendant's Office was originally established to assist the emperor in keeping track of government affairs. Over the years, its scope of duties will of course gradually expand.
The core point is that the emperor will verify what the officials say. Regardless of whether it is useful or not, at least officials will be afraid to lie casually.
After hearing this, Wang Shouren disapproved, deceiving the emperor? He would never do such a stupid thing.
After Xie Pi said this, he got busy.
Yan Song on the side looked very envious. Wang Shouren was the son of the No. 1 scholar, Xie Pi was also the son of the No. 1 scholar, and Fei Hong, who was here just now, was the No. 1 scholar himself.
Even though Yan Song considered himself excellent, he couldn't help but feel ashamed in front of so many talented people. The only person he had a close relationship with in the court was Zhao Shen, the Minister of Justice who had just been promoted, but he was only a Minister.
In addition to his father, Wang Shouren also had Wang Hao, who was very important, to support him.
Yan Song thought about it, but still couldn't resolve the resentment in his heart. People...are afraid of comparing themselves to others.
Wang Shouren didn't wait long. Like debriefing, the ministers who performed better would have less time. During the Ming Dynasty, the taxes paid by Sichuan, a land of abundance, accounted for a small amount of national fiscal revenue, basically at 2%-3%.
In fact, Sichuan had a large population during the Song Dynasty, more than 10 million, and the economy was also developed. It paid more than one-third of the country's taxes. However, in the Ming Dynasty, Sichuan's economic development has been slow and its presence is not high.
The two generations of emperors who founded the country focused on defense in the north. When the first few died, there were not many normal emperors after them.
Zhu Houzhao planted a seed in his heart. We will talk about it later. After Fei Hong took charge of Sichuan, Sichuan's land endowment has increased. It has exceeded 800,000 dan in the previous two years to 1 million dan this year. The results are remarkable and enough. It shows that the foundation of the Land of Abundance is still very good.
After Fei Hong left, Wang Shouren lowered his head and walked in calmly.
I don’t know what the emperor’s attitude is regarding the Fujian matter. He is still worried about it.
Before he could kneel down, the emperor on the dragon throne had already asked, "The bandits do not obey the court's orders on land. How sure are you that they will still obey the court's orders at sea?"
Wang Shouren straightened his upper body and handed over his hands, "Your Majesty. First of all, bandits are not born to be bandits. Most of them just want a way to survive. Secondly, the imperial court pardoned their capital crimes and gave them a chance to reform. Most of them I don’t want to be wanted by the court again; thirdly, His Majesty’s benevolence shines in the world, and even a person with no heart or virtue should know the word gratitude; fourthly, according to the regulations of the Municipal Shipping Department, all ships going to sea must submit the documents on board. From the list of personnel, those who went to sea were all young and strong, and their parents and wives were all on the mainland."
Zhu Houzhao nodded. In any case, Wang Shouren's ability to say one, two, three, and four means that he has also thought about this issue.
"I'm still curious, how did you bring together a group of bandits?"
"Your Majesty, you don't know. People in the Green Forest also value loyalty. Every time they slaughter dogs in a so-called righteous way, I catch them but don't kill them. Therefore, there are a few big bandits who can speak their minds and obey me."
"How many are there in total?"
"The combined number of villages must be nearly 10,000 people." Wang Shouren replied after thinking for a while, and then said: "Your Majesty, after the sea is opened, the Japanese pirates will definitely come. The Ming Dynasty's northern defense cannot be compromised, and the national treasury is Unable to support the simultaneous war in the north and south, under this situation, I thought that using the Fujian bandits was a strategy that killed three birds with one stone. First, it prevented the court from preparing for war on two fronts. Second, it gave the court the power to resist the Japanese pirates. Third, these people also have a way to survive, otherwise they will have to become bandits again!"
In fact, if you think along Wang Shouren's train of thought, you will find that mobilizing these people is indeed a clever move.
As he said, the war between the imperial court and the Tatars has not yet finished, where will the silver come from to form a navy.
"Wang Bo'an, I am not denying your invitation, but what use do I need a group of bandits?"
Wang Shouren couldn't understand for a moment, "Your Majesty means..."
"You are in Fujian and don't want to come back for the time being. You were a follower of Duke Wang Xiangmin back then. You should know the difference between bandits and officers and soldiers. Since these people obey you, you must make them reborn."
Zhu Houzhao showed a confident smile. When employing people, they must squeeze out the maximum value. Anyway, these people obey Wang Shouren and it is best to ask him to go.
"I respectfully obey His Majesty's decree!"
The meaning of the emperor's words is not difficult to understand, that is, he wants him to train this chaotic bandit.
"Anyway, I am still willing to give you some money to serve the imperial court. I don't want people to think that I am working for the imperial court in vain. You can tell me the number."
This was beyond Wang Shouren's expectation, and Ming Dynasty's finances were tight. He had never thought that the emperor's structure could be so big.
So I can only think temporarily. In fact, although there are 10,000 people, some of them are obviously not qualified. He only needs 6,000 people at most, 6,000 people...
"Your Majesty, I think two hundred thousand taels of silver is enough."
Zhu Houzhao sneered, "Two hundred thousand taels are not enough to last for a long time. Not to mention that we need ships and weapons. I will allocate you 350,000 taels. But first, the money allocation needs to be registered in a book. These are all Since the taxes paid by the people are spent, I must know who the money is spent on, right?"
The so-called registration actually included these people into the court system. In other words, they became the paymasters.
For Zhu Houzhao, Wang Shouren's proposal this time gave him a surprise, so he gave the money in name because he wanted to see what this big boss could bring to him with sufficient resources.
Some people are suitable for managing people and land. For example, the unknown sea world still needs people like Wang Shouren.
(End of chapter)
