Compared with the previous dynasties, the functions of the Han Shaofu have undergone great changes. Among them, royal life affairs are functions. In the continuous development and changes, they have basically been stripped away and replaced by the palace supervisors and temple bureaus. The Shaofu itself focuses on the management of the royal family's private property.
Although some functions have been stripped away, this does not mean that the authority of the Han Shaofu has been weakened. On the contrary, it has been strengthened to a certain extent. Focusing on the management of the royal family's industry, which is the real money bag of the royal family, the Shaofu can basically take care of money-related matters, and other departments that also serve the royal family are subject to the Shaofu to a certain extent in actual work.
Even for the powerful and notorious Imperial City Division, a large part of its operation and maintenance funds came from appropriations from the Shaofu. This was one of the reasons why Wang Jien did not dare to completely offend Liu Gui after he gained a foothold. Those who hold the purse strings have a powerful voice.
In the Han Dynasty, the Shaofu was always compared with the Financial Secretary and was called the Internal and External Planner, which shows its influence. Compared with the Financial Secretary, the Young Master is more mysterious and has fewer constraints. He only needs to be responsible to the emperor, but he has a lot of wealth at his disposal.
In the past few decades in the Han Dynasty, commodity trade has flourished. Thanks to loose policies and relatively reasonable taxes, there has been an obvious trend of business growth. It has become increasingly common for officials and people to get rich through business. Even if they are just doing trade circulation, their wealth accumulation speed is very fast. It's amazing.
Of course, in this wave of commodity economy explosion, although some ordinary people have stood up to the forefront and made a fortune, the vast majority of the benefits have obviously been grabbed by those noble bureaucrats who have the power and the right to speak. Even if they are Behind those famous wealthy businessmen, there are more or less powerful figures standing behind them.
Of course, the royal family is also a big beneficiary of this wave, and can even be said to be the biggest beneficiary. The annual financial and tax revenue of the Han Dynasty has been infinitely moving towards the figure of 80 million yuan, but most of these have fixed destinations. If there is a natural disaster or war, a deficit will occur immediately. The value of various industries under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu, It has already exceeded 100 million. This was accomplished when Emperor Liu asked the young master to self-examine.
And if we compare the treasury of the Han Dynasty with the money treasury under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu, it can only be described as poverty.
In the beginning, the Shaofu basically did whatever they wanted to make money. In addition to traditional profit-making industries such as salt, tea, and wine, some new industries that appeared on the market and attracted much attention would also be involved. Over the decades, the Shaofu also gradually It has developed into a behemoth involving almost all industries and mastering massive resources.
Big means bloated, slow, or even losing money. Coupled with backward management and internal corruption, the problem of the Shaofu was once very serious. Even if it was the private property of the royal family, there were still some daring people.
Although several rectifications were carried out and a large number of culprit officials in the Shaofu were arrested and killed, they only served to stop the boiling water and did not solve the fundamental problem. The Shaofu is so fat that it is too tempting. On the other hand, it is too opaque and leaves too much room for manipulation.
This situation did not change significantly until Liu Gui took office. When Liu Gui took office as the Shaofu, he spent a full year and a half doing research. He traveled all over the central plains, including Monan, Northeast China, and Jiangnan, and conducted a lot of research. After thorough research, he went to Emperor Liu and decided to Reform.
Emperor Liu was naturally delighted and appreciative of Liu Gui's courage to serve. After reviewing the memorial, he found that Liu Gui had studied the Shaofu's problems very deeply, and his suggestions were very pertinent and the methods were highly feasible. This was naturally not the case. The reason for rejection was decisive, Emperor Liu was dissatisfied with the young man who kept causing problems, and he hated the thieves who always wanted to poach him.
With Emperor Liu's affirmation and endorsement, Liu Gui felt confident, so he carried out drastic reforms in the Shaofu.
It covers a wide range of areas and has many provisions, but in summary, Liu Gui mainly did two things. First, establish rules, strengthen organizational procedures, make many vague issues in the past operation of the Shaofu transparent, and find ways to restrain subordinates and restrict officials. Of course, the corresponding punishments are also very severe, otherwise there is no way to deter people.
For this reason, Liu Gui even personally invented some "new" punishments, such as a torture called "flowering every day", which was aimed at prisoners who enriched themselves and stole the treasury. The specific method was to cut off the prisoners' hands. , starting from the little finger, guillotined joint by joint until the entire arm was chopped off.
After cutting off the left hand, chop off the right hand, but generally speaking, many people can't wait until the whole hand is cut off, and it is already painful to death. If there are brave men who are not dead after the guillotine is finished on both hands, then there are still toes and legs. During the execution, there was not even a chance to commit suicide.
It is precisely with these cruel methods that people realize that this Liu Gui is really a ruthless person. Although he is talented and knowledgeable, he is still a cruel official at heart. Liu Gui also gradually establishes his authority through these horrific measures. , inside and outside the palace, there were countless people who were in awe and fear. Of course, Liu Gui always maintained this humility towards the two high-ranking officials, Yan Tuo and Wang Jien.
The second thing Liu Gui reformed was to cut down the royal family's industry in large quantities, slim down the bloated industry, cut unnecessary expenditures, and control the revenue-expenditure ratio. After three years of reform, the royal family's industry slimming down plan has Finally finished.
By getting rid of many unnecessary or low-yield industries, the wealth of the royal family has not been reduced, but has been significantly improved. Those key industries are already high-profit and have a certain degree of monopoly. If more resources and costs are invested, the results will be obtained. The benefits are naturally greater.
At the same time, the management efficiency of the Shaofu has also been significantly improved in the process of losing weight. This is complementary to Liu Gui's high-pressure policy. Many people have to be honest and low-key because they are afraid of Liu Gui and the appalling torture. It is in this reverence that the rules are implemented.
Under Liu Gui's reforms, the Shaofu of the Han Dynasty actually underwent some changes. It became more professional and refined. At the same time, the accumulation of wealth further increased. Being wealthy is not just an adjective.
It is precisely because of these obvious results that Liu Gui has mixed reputations and reputations in the court. Some people despise his status as a eunuch and think that he has become a crown prince. Some people are jealous of his cruelty and coldness. But at the same time, there are also people who admire him in the Shaofu Prison. Of course, these are only a very small number of people who have made great achievements in office.
Of course, Liu Gui would not pay attention to the gossip of the unexpected court. As long as Emperor Liu trusted him, and as long as Yantuo and Wang Jien did not cause trouble, he would be as stable as a mountain.
Now, taking advantage of the imperial tax reform, Liu Gui has carried out his third major reform since taking office, which is also about the land issue.
There is no doubt that no matter how beneficial other industries are, land is still the backbone of the royal family's industry, with huge volume and high profits. Likewise, there are many problems. Emperor Liu summoned Liu Gui, obviously because of the matter of the royal land.
Emperor Liu has been thinking about the land issue all year round. Naturally, it is impossible to ignore the royal family. It is just that it has not been exposed before, and there is still a trace of luck in his heart.
Nowadays, the window paper has been pierced, and it has become necessary to change it according to the situation.
(End of chapter)
