[It should be Chapter 427. This chapter was originally planned to be 425, but I forgot to change it]
Early February of the second year of Zhengde.
Liu Jian, the governor of Shandong, came to Beijing. He was the first official to report to the emperor.
As the former chief minister, the emperor had always been somewhat special to him.
Moreover, two members of the current cabinet still have a close relationship with him.
Liu Jian still has this slightly special status, which actually reflects that the current cabinet still has a certain status in the emperor's heart.
The main content of the report should include land, population, summer taxes, and autumn grain.
As mentioned above, the Ming Dynasty’s taxation was divided into summer tax and autumn grain tax, among which autumn grain occupies an absolutely dominant position, basically reaching 89%. And the time to send them to the capital is almost February of the next year. Therefore, the emperor chose to schedule the imperial meeting in March.
It means setting aside a month to review the achievements and problems of the past year.
After the meeting, there will be personnel changes.
Because there are not many people changing, the officials will make some moves more or less. Such moves cannot be concealed, and the news spreads like wildfire. In addition, last year's precedent is the first, so naturally many officials are very concerned about it.
Naturally, the report on work in the second year of Zhengde is not a simple report on work. But to distinguish themselves in front of the emperor.
Zhu Houzhao has been putting pragmatism first for ten years. Just like last year, he will not force the taxes paid by the provinces to increase. Because once this concept of political performance is established, it will certainly make the national treasury full, but local officials will do whatever it takes to collect grain. At that time, it may not be a good policy.
In the process of debriefing, listening is actually secondary. The main reason is that the emperor will intersperse a lot of questions. Once he cannot answer... Therefore, every feudal official must be familiar with the situation under his rule.
For Shandong,
Liu Jian mainly reported on where the 300,000 rivers of ICBC he received last year was spent, how many canals were built, how many water systems were connected, and what the grain harvest was.
Zhu Hou looked after it and found that there were about 724,000 hectares of cultivated land in Shandong Province, and the tax paid was 2.8 million shi, a slight increase from last year.
In the Ming Dynasty, Shandong was also a large tax province, basically lagging behind the wealthy Southern Zhili. Together with Zhejiang, Shaanxi, and Henan, it was a large province that could pay more than 2 million shi in taxes every year.
"...The situation in Shandong is relatively stable, no different from previous years. However, there were severe droughts in Shandong in the 11th and 12th years of Hongzhi. The minister's plan was unforeseen, and preparations must be made again in each county in the second year of Zhengde. The system of warehouse."
The reserve warehouse is where grain is stored, and it is most likely to be a trap here.
Zhu Houzhao understood what he meant, "For officials below the prefect, I grant you the right to make decisions on the spot. From the prefect and above, you can deal with them together. You only need to tell me a reason."
"My lord, thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, I still have some unkind requests."
"explain."
"In the first year of Zhengde, His Majesty allocated 300,000 silver taels for river repair work. I mobilized people in Jinan, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou Prefectures to dredge rivers and strengthen river embankments. However, there are many rivers in Shandong, and the 300,000 taels of silver were not really used. Since we are so stretched, I have to prioritize my priorities, first clearing the blocked rivers and first clearing the dry land.
I know that this money is not supposed to go to Shandong this year, but many water conservancy projects in Shandong are half way through. If we don't do it at this time, all the previous efforts will be wasted. Moreover, I heard that the national treasury is full. I wonder if your majesty can allocate another three hundred thousand taels of silver? "
Zhu Houzhao had already sent Xie Pi to see it.
As for Liu Jian, he is quite attentive in his work and is not the kind of official who abuses and deceives the people.
As for money, if it can really be used for people's livelihood, Zhu Houzhao himself has no objection.
"Logically speaking, I shouldn't have said this. Otherwise, if I only gave it to you and not to anyone else, it would be unfair to say that I am partial. But you are not the only one who has mercy on the people of the world. I am the same. I agreed to this money."
Liu Jian was overjoyed, "Your Majesty is kind and kind, and I would like to thank you on behalf of the people of Shandong!"
Zhu Houzhao didn't say anything more, but Liu Jian's words, "I heard that the national treasury is full," made him a little concerned.
But later I thought, after all, he was the old Liu Ge, so it was easy to find out some information.
At the same time, major officials from various places outside Shandong have also set off.
Hangzhou.
Mei Kejia met Wang Hao, the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian who was heading north.
In fact, Mei Kejia's identity is difficult for many people to grasp. In terms of background, he is just a businessman. Even if he has an official status, in the political atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty, if he is not an official from the imperial examination, it is still inferior. But when it comes to status, he holds Mei Ji. In the entire Jiangnan region, there is no one who wants to do maritime business who does not sell his face.
Because only he has a boat.
In addition, both nobles are his daughters.
Nowadays, Mei Ji seems to have become an imperial merchant, and he, Mei Kejia, seems to have the respect of an important minister.
In this way, Wang Hao came to Hangzhou to see him.
However, Wang Hao has a stubborn temper and has never been one to cling to the powerful.
He is not here to sell off the honor of the father-in-law, he is here for the surplus from sea trade.
At the end of the 18th year of Hongzhi's reign, the emperor defied all the opinions and resolutely opened the sea. For a whole year, most of the people along the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian were involved in maritime trade. Even if they did not go to sea, they could still sell their goods to those who went to sea. merchant.
Among them, Meiji is the strongest. In June and September this year, it dispatched thirty large ships with 400 materials to go to sea. It can be said that it is a massive and spectacular event.
In order to fill these ships, Meiji's "downstream suppliers" are almost all over Zhejiang. The largest store in Ningbo Shipping Company is operated by Meiji.
In comparison, Fujian and Quanzhou City also have some large merchants, but their scale is obviously smaller than Ningbo.
Wang Hao was sent to the southeast by the emperor to stabilize the situation of opening the sea, so how could he not come to Meiji, who played an important role in Ningbo?
Not to mention that Mei Ji's money had nothing to do with him. After all, Mei Ji was doing business in the area he was in charge of. When debriefing, he mentioned how much silver he would need to bring to Beijing, which was also one of the core issues.
also,
After the establishment of the Municipal Shipping Department, the imperial court successively improved taxation, inspection, approval and other mechanisms.
Therefore, the imperial court's silver in the southeast this year is mainly three pieces.
The first is the original land tax in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.
In this regard, Zhejiang has more, with summer taxes and autumn grains totaling nearly 2.8 million shi, while Fujian has less, about 900,000 shi.
He, the governor of Fujian, is well aware of this. There are no major disasters in Zhejiang and Fujian this year, and officials from the two provinces besides him include Wang Qiong, Mao Ji, Fengxi, Zhang Li, Wang Shouren...
With the combined efforts of so many people, Zhejiang's land tax has increased. Last year it was 2.5 million dan, and this year it increased by 300,000 dan.
It's not easy.
There may also be factors that lead to more killings of corrupt officials and clans in Zhejiang.
There has been little movement in Fujian, which was able to hand over 850,000 shi in previous years.
However, Fujian has always been an indisputable place for military strategists. The Ming Dynasty has an annual income of 28 million dan, and it is not easy to achieve significant results in a place with a land tax of less than 1 million dan every day.
Second, it is the tariff collected by shipping companies in various places.
According to the memorial sent to the emperor by the Governor's Office of Zhejiang and Fujian, in order to encourage merchants to go to sea in the early days of the sea, the tax rates of the shipping companies in the three cities were all low. Someone in the court suggested that two out of ten, that is, 20%.
Zhu Houzhao did not agree with this ratio. He still agreed with the governor's Yamen's opinion that low taxes should be used to support maritime trade, so the final tax was set at 1/25.
Moreover, from the very beginning, the imperial court rejected the policy of "taxing multiple taxes", that is, levying taxes on ships, people, and goods separately. Such a variety of names is really not conducive to management.
Therefore, in unification, the shipping departments of the three cities only levy physical taxes on goods shipped to sea.
This is the first year. Even if the enthusiasm among the people is high, the goods shipped by the shipping companies in the three cities are only more than 7 million taels. The merchants have made a lot of profits, but the imperial customs revenue is only more than 200,000 taels.
Basically, it is retained locally and used for some administrative expenses and salary distribution in the three places of the Municipal Shipping Department.
The part that is turned over is mainly the tariff levied on imported goods from overseas. However, Ming Dynasty is a small-scale peasant economy. Unless you sail over and set up cannons, it is not easy to market goods here, so you can basically ignore it. Not good.
The main court didn't care much either.
Because the majority of the court's profits are not in this.
But in government-run shops such as Meiji and Hangzhou Manufacturing Bureau.
That is the third point: sea trade surplus.
In fact, the so-called businessmen make a lot of profits, and more than 40% of them are the profits of the 'imperial merchants'.
Wang Hao knew the approximate figure. Mei Ji and the Weaving Bureau shipped 2.4 million taels of silver to the emperor last year. This year, the amount may be doubled, and there is still one ship that has not returned. All these can be checked. Although it is said that corruption and personal enrichment are inevitable, the emperor today is not easy to deceive. Last year, there was no sea-opening number. If it does not double this year, how can you do it?
The benefits of sea trade are really amazing. No wonder Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty left a saying, "The benefits of sea trade are the greatest." It's no wonder that the emperor was desperate to do this.
In addition, the Lianghuai Salt Farm case shocked the world.
In today's imperial court, the interests of the people gathered... are a bit too much.
Going further north from Hangzhou, you can change to waterway and take the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Wang Hao, Wang Shouren, and the two prefects whom the emperor asked him to recommend stood on the bow of the ship and watched the officials carrying boxes of silver onto the ship.
In order to protect the money, there were two warships at the front and rear of their ship.
It can be said to be a relatively large fleet.
“In the past, it was said that Southeast Asia’s finances and taxes were under half the pressure, but in the future, I’m afraid it will be said that the benefits of sea trade are under half the world.”
The official behind Wang Hao sighed.
No wonder, they have already counted dozens of boxes.
"Boss Mei's money coming to Beijing will probably cause quite a stir."
Mei Kejia didn't care at all, "Why should the department be worried? Wasn't there nothing last year?"
Wang Hao shook his head, "It's different. Last year, there was no such thing as Your Majesty being in a hurry to spend money."
…
…
After Liu Jian left the palace, he still did not visit others, nor did he easily let others visit.
Except for two old friends, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian. After all, they rarely see each other for a year.
So just like last year, Li and Xie came to Liu Jian's place to have a cup of hot tea and talk about life.
"In the first year of Zhengde, there were disasters in Huguang and Sichuan, and civil unrest in Guangxi, but His Majesty and the imperial court responded to it, which can be regarded as doing their best. In addition, the world is at peace, which can be regarded as peace and prosperity for the country and the people. Moreover, this year, the national treasury and internal funds are all in balance. Enriched, His Majesty issued several orders to urge the Young Master to speed up the progress of the project, which shows that some money will be spent."
Li Dongyang's words almost set the tone for this year's meeting.
In fact, it's not his decision, everyone else will think so.
But Liu Jian was slightly silent. Maybe he would have said the words "Guotai and People's Peace" before, but when he went to Shandong and went to various counties, he saw that under the "Guotai and People's Peace", there were actually people selling their sons and daughters, and destroying their families.
The so-called good years are just barely enough to satisfy hunger.
Since Huguang and Sichuan suffered disasters, it was indeed a scabies disease for the Ming Dynasty, but for the people there, it was a devastating disaster.
"Xixian, what's wrong with you?"
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian both noticed something strange about him.
"No..." Liu Jian lowered his eyebrows, "I'm just thinking that your Majesty might be right most of the time."
"what for?"
"Yesterday, I proposed to His Majesty that we should allocate another 300,000 taels to Shandong to repair the river, and His Majesty agreed."
"oh?"
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were also slightly surprised.
The main thing is that there was a dispute last year about which province should this money go to.
At that time, people were afraid of Liu Xixian's reputation as a veteran of four dynasties. If His Majesty gives it to him, then it will be given to him.
But I will give it back this year...
"In this case, it won't be 300,000 taels." Xie Qian and Li Dongyang are not stupid people, "Maybe it will be more than 1 million taels."
Otherwise, how can it be justified?
To put it bluntly, other provinces will basically give it to them if they really ask for it.
How could Liu Jian not know?
But those things in Shandong were half done, so he had to speak. Or, before he spoke, he felt there was little hope, so he didn't think too much about it.
Who knew the emperor agreed.
Liu Jian then sighed, "His Majesty is people-oriented and loves the people like a son. He may be a little fierce at times, but he is a young emperor after all. So I was thinking just now that my past disputes with His Majesty may have been my obsession. "
"Your Majesty...is indeed a benevolent king."
"But I also heard that after learning that the treasury was full, some people wanted to change the three-year policy to two years. Especially after the Yongshebu tribe surrendered, some people in the court felt that the Tatars were nothing more than that, so why wait any longer One year?”
Xie Qian's words made it difficult for both Li Dongyang and Liu Jian to show their faces.
Li Dongyang continued: "My intention with Yu Qiao is that the cabinet will advise His Majesty that we should follow the three-year plan without making any changes. Otherwise, no matter how much money we have, it will only be used up overnight. When the time comes, , I don’t know how long it will take to wait until the next time this situation happens again.”
"Actually, His Majesty will arrange it well." Liu Jian was not in a hurry at all.
"I'm just afraid that there will be some rash intruders in the court, and your Majesty is very eager to get involved..."
"What did Mr. Yang Ge say?"
Xie Qian replied: "He will not enter Beijing until about seven days. We can also listen to his opinions then. If the complex period is changed to two years, the most direct impact will be the orderly exit of the people and herdsmen."
This is not difficult to understand. If there are not enough horses in a short period of time, the time to maintain herding will definitely be longer.
But in fact, we are not worried about scarcity but inequality. Some places will withdraw, while others will not. This in itself can easily lead to conflicts. Therefore, various places can only promise when to withdraw. Can such promises be easily extended?
===
That’s four thousand for this chapter today, right?
At the beginning of the new plot, I feel a little sluggish and in average condition, so I'll slow down a bit. I even wanted to take a leave of absence, but then I saw a person saying that my updates were like peeing.
?
? ?
(End of chapter)
