The emperor really wants to do this.
Yang Yiqing still feels a little dazed.
In fact, the more the grains in the field collapse, the more obvious the effect will be once they are rectified.
Because of the shrinking tax base, although there were wise kings in the dynasty and wise ministers in the localities, the annual income in the Ming Dynasty was still around 29 million dan. Even so, it is comparable to the time of Ren and Xuan.
It's only a little less than Yongle's early years, but it's really not easy to increase it again.
However, if the reorganization of military settlements can be effective, not only will the people get more food, but the imperial court will also be able to increase its annual income to 35 million shi.
In addition, the reorganization of military camps can also allow the food that originally belonged to the garrison to belong to the garrison again, and save the court from spending more military pay.
In the early Ming Dynasty, due to the good practice of farming, it was indeed possible to raise a million soldiers without costing the people as Zhu Yuanzhang said. But later, the farming was destroyed on a large scale and so many soldiers had no food to eat. The court had to take care of it, right?
Therefore, we could only allocate funds, which led to the Ming Dynasty, and the pressure on military pay continued to increase.
If this part of the expenditure can be saved, the court will have 8 million to 10 million shi more food at its disposal every year.
So whether it's disaster relief or military preparation, which one doesn't work?
Only then will the world be rich and prosperous, and it will be called the true Ming Dynasty and ZTE.
Yang Yiqing was half lying on the recliner. Whenever he thought of this scene, he couldn't help but get excited.
If such a day could really come true, Yang Yiqing would not have lived this life in vain.
"Mr. Ge, the people are here."
"oh."
Yang Yiqing enjoys the coolness in the bamboo forest in the backyard. He has a table and a cup of strong tea. When he is not in the cabinet duty room, he will let himself stay here.
Zhang Congyuan never expected that he would be able to enter the palace of the current cabinet minister.
But he knew something was unusual.
Otherwise, it's Uncle Weining and Mr. Ge, what are they doing?
"I am lowered to the post of Shaanxi Taoist Censor Zhang Cong and pay my respects to Mr. Yang Ge."
"Get up."
"Thank you Mr. Ge."
Yang Yiqing took a look at this ordinary-looking middle-aged man and said, "The imperial court wants to inspect the pastures and farmland in the northwest, and they chose you. Have you received the order?"
"It was received in the morning."
"What do you think?"
"Your majesty has a destiny to eat the emperor's salary and be loyal to the emperor, but death is the only way."
"No one wants you to die. His Majesty wants you to live and get things done. If you die, what value can you add to your Majesty and the court?"
Zhang Cong had always known some of Yang Yiqing's reputation, so he would never summon him for no reason at this time, so he immediately handed over his hand and said humbly: "Please give me some advice."
Yang Yiqing slowly sat up while holding on to the table. Probably because he was old, his breathing was a little heavy.
"This matter is very important. Only by eliminating the disadvantages of the military can we restore the power of the Ming Dynasty and protect the lives of the people. You and I are all ministers. A wise king is rare. If you fail to do this with righteousness in one day, future generations... this is the same. , you need to remember.
After all, you still need to be strong in order to strike iron. You have personally experienced what happened in Huai'an Mansion. People who go to court are easily captured by others. If His Majesty hadn't insisted on getting to the bottom of it, your life would not have been saved. Now that you have become a descendant yourself, you must pay attention to this point. Stick to this point, no matter how big the matter is, Your Majesty has the final say, so there is no need to be afraid.
Third...do you have a wife and children? Where are they now? "
Zhang Cong replied, "They are all in my hometown in Zhejiang."
"Fetch the capital master."
Zhang Cong: "..."
He said this as if something would happen.
"Mr. Ge..."
"If you can do this, it's hard to say that you will be able to join the cabinet and worship the prime minister, but it is not difficult to be respected. And since you have lived in the capital for a long time, how can your family always be separated? If you can't do this, your wife, children, and children will be When we get to the capital, I can still take care of you a little bit. Now that I'm gone, Your Majesty will still be there."
Whether this is done or not is actually up to you.
Zhang Cong was a little shocked.
He knelt down and thanked loudly, "I would like to thank you, Mr. Geng, for your kindness."
In fact, Yang Yiqing can be regarded as a person with fierce methods. When he investigated horse smuggling, he got a lot of blood.
"Go ahead."
"Yes, I am resigning."
During the Jiajing period in history, Yang Yiqing initially admired Zhang Cong. After all, Zhang Cong still had some ideals and ambitions. At that time, Yang Yiqing was at home, and Zhang Cong had offended too many people in the court, so he strongly recommended Yang Yiqing to come back so that he could stand up for him as an old senior. The two hit it off immediately and had a brief honeymoon period.
But they soon turned against each other.
As for Zhang Cong, he has ideals and means, but one thing is bad. He is very eager for quick success and quick gains, and he doesn't pay much attention to means.
Later generations believe that this may be related to Zhang Cong's age. He was already forty-six or seventeen years old when he was selected as a Jinshi. Although he had captured the trust of Emperor Jiajing, it would take time for a newcomer to be promoted no matter how quickly he was promoted.
And he had a 'great cause' to do in his heart, so he seemed very impatient. Of course, this was just an explanation.
Maybe his character itself is like this.
Therefore, Zhang Cong's tact in officialdom was indeed not as good as that of Zhang Juzheng later. Generally speaking, if you offend too many people, you will have to move the people in front of you. And once the emperor favors others, he will become jealous.
In addition, he initially borrowed Yang Yiqing's power, but in the end he ignored Yang Yiqing's efforts to slander Yang Yiqing, causing Yang Yiqing to have to explain himself in front of Emperor Jiajing. It feels very shameful to do this.
But this is actually like a living person.
A person cannot be all good, nor can he be 100% bad. There are good and bad. This is the complexity of human beings themselves.
At this time and space, Zhang Cong's situation was better. He is now thirty-six years old, and he is also a very promising person in the officialdom. Even if he is eager for quick success, his recent experiences can satisfy him.
The Shaanxi Tao Supervisory Censor is already in the fifth rank.
And Yang Yiqing did appreciate him, and he had similar interests. Although he was older, his enthusiasm for doing things matched his.
In a sense, if you find someone who can continue to do what you want to do, a normal person would think that he has found an heir.
Of course, Yang Yiqing only had a fleeting idea of this, and more details needed to be seen. Besides, Zhang Cong is not the only one who can catch his eye.
As a cabinet minister, he himself promoted many people.
The current Minister of War, Qi Chengsui, and Qiu Yue.
Qiu Yue had already been promoted when he was the governor of the three sides. In the second year of Zhengde, Qiu Yue had meritorious service in battle and was promoted to the command of the guard because of his merit. This guard was the left guard of Shuofang.
Because Yang Yiqing had many contacts with Wang Shouren during that time.
He was also convinced and admired by Wang Shouren's talent and character, so he fully approved of Wang Shouren's management of the Loop.
Historically, Yang Yiqing was famous for being good at discovering talents. The above-mentioned people were discovered and recommended by him when he was the governor, and they all maintained good relations with him.
Not only that, in the second year of Zhengde's reign, he resigned from the position of governor and returned to Beijing to serve as the head of the cabinet. After that, he successively recommended some people.
The most promising among them is Wang Tingxiang.
Wang Tingxiang, Wang Shouren and Zhang Cong are all about the same age, around thirty-six or seventeen. Wang Shouren was the earliest to become famous, Zhang Cong was the last, and Wang Tingxiang was in the middle. He had already taken over Wang Shouren's position and was patrolling Shaanxi as the right deputy capital censor.
He first came to prominence in the 17th year of Hongzhi's reign, when he published the "Economic Strategy on Border Affairs", which proposed several methods on how to deal with emergency border situations, highlighting his partial capabilities in military and political affairs.
At that time, the emperor awarded him military science to Shizhong.
But just when he was about to be tested and appointed, his father unfortunately passed away in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, so he returned home and Dingyou didn't return until the second year of Zhengde.
At that time, Yang Yiqing returned to Beijing to serve as chief minister. He saw that this person had clear logic and was capable in doing things, so he recommended him to Shaanxi.
That time was also a special event. People rebelled in Jingyang and Xianning, Shaanxi. This was actually not uncommon in the feudal dynasty. This kind of thing was neither big nor small. It was crazy to send a large army and completely consume the people's power, but it would not work if we ignored it.
Later, Yang Yiqing thought of this person, and Zhu Houzhao was also somewhat impressed, so he sent this person there.
Unexpectedly, Wang Tingxiang handled it very well. In fact, many times, some things depend on whether you have the courage to do it. For example, some people will privately occupy the official army quota. Wang Tingxiang dares to stop it. If it doesn't work, he will file a complaint.
He resolutely suppressed the mob, advocating "extermination of the population and sweeping away everything" without mercy. At the same time, he posted notices everywhere for the hesitant people, admonishing them to return to their hometowns.
In addition, he dealt with justice and did not deduct military pay. Moreover, he always believed that the army must have combat effectiveness and lack of pay would not be enough.
So Wang Tingxiang led a group of people and got the matter done beautifully.
Afterwards, the court took a look and realized that he was really a talented person.
Therefore, at the end of the second year of Zhengde, in order to further handle Shaanxi affairs, the imperial court promoted Wang Tingxiang to the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi.
In the fourth year of Zhengde, Wang Tingxiang came to the palace to see his majesty during the great dynasty meeting.
As an official, he dared to put forward bold reform ideas, and as a scholar, he focused on running the country and benefiting the world. In terms of military training, he put forward relatively pertinent suggestions such as "reserve military pay" and "refresh the military system". At the same time, he was in the limelight. On the issue of suppressing uprisings, he believed that taxes should be reduced to reduce the burden on the people.
Moreover, when he gave a correct answer, he was well aware of the matters within his jurisdiction, and his answers were clear and clear.
How could such an official in his thirties and in his prime not be appreciated and noticed by the emperor?
Therefore, in the great court meeting in the fourth year of Zhengde, Wang Tingxiang gained the most. After the data he mentioned were verified by the attendants, the emperor made the decision and promoted him to governor of Shaanxi!
For no other reason than to be able to clearly explain the matters under your jurisdiction, this means being diligent and willing to do things.
Yang Yiqing is really good at reading people.
However, Zhang Cong's trip to the northwest was another big test for both of them.
For this reason, he, the cabinet minister, really had to say hello to Wang Tingxiang again. After Zhang Cong left, he wrote the letter himself on the stone table.
He is the chief minister of the cabinet and employs many people. He has to do all these things, so he is called the chief minister.
