Ma Gui and Yu Pu were confused.
Feelings: Gu Zhengchen is so busy, not for yourself, but for everyone?
Yu Pu shook his head. It was obvious that Gu Zhengchen was not a candle. He burned himself and left light, so he said, "Your Majesty allowed you to raise an honest bank because you did not use government tax money."
Ma Gui nodded.
Many people are greedy for the money to be raised, but no one dares to imitate Gu Zhengchen in giving money to officials. Apart from the fact that Gu Zhengchen has the emperor's backing, there is another most important reason:
Gu Zhengchen knows how to make money.
At that time, Wang Anshi shouted, "The people do not pay taxes but the state uses spares." In the end, he was scolded miserably. Not only did many people not get any benefits, but they also incurred a lot of debts, making their lives even more difficult.
But Gu Zhengchen was different. He built three courtyards in Jurong, which benefited the people, the county government, and the Ministry of Household Affairs. The Jurong County Government's Yanglianyin is actually the profits of the three major courtyards, not money and food collected from taxes paid by the people of Jurong.
Although Gu Zhengchen has not built any three major courtyards in Quanzhou Prefecture, he can't stand those corrupt officials who are really corrupt. The government office suddenly has hundreds of thousands of extra money, leaving this guy behind and "buying" it for the people of Quanzhou Prefecture. There is still a lot of money left over from autumn and summer taxes, so there is really no pressure to use it to raise money.
The Ministry of Revenue wanted to reach out and use the money from Quanzhou Prefecture to replenish the national treasury, but Gu Zhengchen wrote a letter saying that these are the people's fat of Quanzhou Prefecture. They are the leftovers after the government has eaten the people's blood for seven years, and they should be left to feed the people of Quanzhou Prefecture to restore production. , the emperor is sure...
Gu Zhengchen has the ability to solve the Yanglianyin problem in Jurong and Quanzhou Prefecture, but he cannot solve the Yanglianyin problem among all the officials in the imperial court!
Ma Gui looked at Gu Zhengchen and said coldly: "Gu County man means that by opening up the sea to do business, all officials can adopt Lian Yin? Oh, this is too fanciful. Do you know how many officials there are inside and outside?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head: "Not sure."
Ma Gui sighed: "Not talking about Jinling officials, let's talk about local officials. Not counting the officials, there are 4,500. If we include the officials and miscellaneous servants, there are 112,000 people. This person is paid one tael of silver, and one After one year, it will be 1.44 million. If you calculate it based on the two taels of silver you were given in Quanzhou Prefecture, it will be at least three million taels after one year. Do you think opening the sea can fill such a big hole?"
Gu Zhengchen frowned and said in a deep voice: "Then let's see if the Ministry of Revenue has the courage to spend three million taels of silver to avoid corruption of three million or even five million taels!"
Ma Gui and Yu Pu were shocked.
Gu Zhengchen said sternly: "Don't underestimate the corruption of a county. Let's take Hui'an County of Quanzhou as an example. When you were the county magistrate, the money you collected in one year was enough to support Quanzhou's government for eight years! And that place is barren. Hell, he can do this especially! Those officials and servants followed closely behind, oppressing the people like wolves and tigers, and taking food from the people's mouths in different ways!"
"If the imperial court is willing to spend four million taels to avoid four million taels of corruption, who will benefit? Everyone will benefit! Officials and servants will not commit corruption because of poverty, let alone take the risk of being skinned! Officials and handymen will be relaxed and their lives will be better, and the people will naturally be less subject to the government's clever excuses and constant exploitation! Officials are better off, and the people are better off, isn't that good?"
Yu Pu smiled helplessly: "Is it easy for the household department? With so much money and food for officials and servants, how can we use it for other things? We need money and food for marching and fighting, and money and food for local disaster relief. There are constant natural disasters in the local area, and the court has to provide relief for a year. The local taxes are several million dan! Mr. Gu County, tell me, what should the Ministry of Household Affairs do?"
Gu Zhengchen held the copper coin in his hand and smiled calmly: "Simple, support Quanzhou Prefecture to open the sea, and don't hinder Quanzhou Prefecture. I will open a way for the Ministry of Revenue to get out."
Ma Gui and Yu Pu looked at each other.
Yu Pu finally nodded: "Okay, the Ministry of Revenue will not cause trouble for Quanzhou Prefecture. It's just Gu County man, are you really sure?"
Gu Zhengchen cupped his hands and said, "It doesn't hurt to try."
Ma Gui and Yu Pu stood up to see Gu Zhengchen off.
As soon as they returned to the male residence in Quanzhou County, Mu Chun and Mu Sheng ran over, one by one.
Gu Zhengchen took the two little ones and asked them some questions. Muying came over and asked the children to eat first. Then she and Gu Zhengchen left the house and went straight to the Duke of Wei's house.
Rarely, Xu Da actually held a banquet.
Xu Da stood at the gate in person. When he saw Gu Zhengchen coming, he winked at Xu Yungong and stepped forward with a smile: "Mr. Gu County, please come quickly."
Gu Zhengchen was a little flattered: "How dare you let Duke Wei personally welcome you."
Xu Da smiled boldly and pulled Gu Zhengchen into the mansion. After the guests and hosts were seated, Xu Da pointed at Xu Yungong and introduced to Gu Zhengchen: "This is the dog Yungong. Yungong, you haven't given Mr. Gu a full drink yet."
Xu Yungong picked up the flask, filled a glass of wine, brought it to Gu Zhengchen, and said respectfully: "Mr. Gu, please use the wine."
Gu Zhengchen did not reach out to pick it up, but stood up and looked at Xu Da and asked, "What does this mean?"
Xu Da suppressed his smile and said seriously: "In the past, Muchun didn't know how to adapt and acted simply. In less than two years, things have changed drastically. One day, he will be a general who can secure the country with civility and can fight with force. And this Everything was given by Gu Xian Nan. Yun Gong knew that Gu Xian Nan was very talented, so he wanted to learn from Mu Chun and Mu Sheng together."
Gu Zhengchen understood that Xu Da wanted Xu Yungong to worship him as his teacher and study together with Mu Chun and Mu Sheng.
Xu Yungong is Xu Huizu!
This is a true emperor-loyal faction. If Zhu Yunwen wasn't jealous of his identity as Zhu Di's uncle, he would probably be able to accomplish something. After all, during the Battle of Jingnan, Xu Huizu made several moves and caused trouble for Zhu Di. This is a man who is talented and capable but has no chance.
Xu Yungong saluted and said, "Please teach me, sir!"
Gu Zhengchen would not refuse if he could get in touch with Xu Huizu. Looking at Mu Ying, this guy must have known about this when he brought him to dinner.
Mu Ying persuaded with a smile: "Yungong is about the same age as Mu Chun. The two of them often walk around. He is smart and can understand everything. Just accept him. If you have one more disciple, how about a different teaching?"
Seeing that the words had reached this point, Gu Zhengchen had no choice but to reach out and take the wine glass from Xu Yungong's hand, help him up, and nodded: "Seeing that Wei Guogong fought for the country and worked hard for the country, Commander Mu will intercede for you. If you sincerely enter the school, I will accept you as a disciple."
Xu Yungong was so surprised that he quickly saluted.
Xu Da was very pleased.
If his son can take Gu Zhengchen as his teacher, he will have a reliable person to trust him when he grows old.
Gu Zhengchen has extraordinary luck and outstanding abilities. Given time, he will definitely enter Zhongshu and become a minister of humility! The Duke of Wei also needs someone to take care of him so that he can sleep peacefully. Otherwise, if he is besieged by civil servants, it is not impossible for the title to be removed...
Because of his status, it was impossible for Xu Da to make friends with Zhu Biao, and it was impossible to send Xu Yungong to Zhu Biao, but the Wei Guogong Palace could not have anything to do with the East Palace.
Xu Da, who had been thinking carefully, made a clever chess move, and this chess piece was Gu Zhengchen.
As long as Xu Yungong and Gu Zhengchen had a teacher-student relationship, and Gu Zhengchen was close to the prince, and the prince would reuse Gu Zhengchen in the future, Gu Zhengchen would naturally recommend and help his disciples.
Gu Zhengchen is like a bridge, connecting the Wei Guogong Palace and the East Palace.
And even if the emperor and prince knew about this move, they would not be suspicious at all, and no courtier would say anything dirty.
Gu Zhengchen accepted Xu Yungong's gift, helped him up, and said seriously: "I am not prepared to be a teacher today. Although it seems hasty to accept you as a disciple, training is indispensable. Remember, as a general, you should Loyalty first, loyalty to the emperor, loyalty to the Ming Dynasty... There is no shortcut in learning, but to study hard, read a lot of books, think well, and inquire into the truth..."
Xu Da and Mu Ying nodded repeatedly.
The banquet is finally over.
After drinking for three rounds, Xu Da said: "Mr. Gu County, in addition to Quanzi's apprenticeship at the banquet today, there is one more thing I need to ask for. As for the Shanhai cannon, can you first allocate some of them to the northern border towns? Although Yuan Ting does not have it in the north There was too much movement, but Nahachu from the northeast kept moving southward, invading Liaodong, and the defenders were exhausted..."
Gu Zhengchen thought for a while and said seriously: "Wei Guogong, you need your majesty's permission to deploy the Shanhai cannon into the military camp. The batch of Shanhai cannon used by the Navy is only for actual combat testing. After all, those twelve Shanhai cannons need to be sent back to distant places." Fire station assessment for improvements.”
"His Majesty is aware of such a major matter, but His Majesty said that it is up to you to decide whether it can be transferred."
Xu Da knew the rules, and it was impossible to request a fire adjuster without informing the emperor in advance.
Gu Zhengchen thought for a while and said to Xu Da: "Wei Guogong, the Shanhai artillery cannot be allocated yet. First of all, the Shanhai artillery must be equipped with sergeants. In addition to the coastal navy, it can only be given priority to the sergeants guarding Jinling, and then to the important border towns. Secondly, the Mountain and Sea Cannon is a key weapon. If it doesn't fire, it will be a blockbuster! Using the Mountain and Sea Cannon on Naha is somewhat overkill."
"Finally, there are still many problems with the Shanhaicannon. It has not reached the level of the divine machine gun I wanted. Moreover, the gunfire is currently being improved and has not yet been finalized. Rely on a large number of infantry and only bring some Shanhaicannon to fight the Yuanting cavalry. , it’s good to have an ambush, but on the vast grassland, once we are attacked by cavalry, the losses will be heavy.”
Xu Da frowned and sighed: "I know everything you said. It's just that the soldiers of Liaodong are tired, unable to catch up, and lack support for defense."
Gu Zhengchen knew that Xu Da loved soldiers, so he lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and said, "Give the Far Fire Bureau another half a year. In August, if Your Majesty allows it, the Far Fire Bureau can first send a batch of firearms to Liaodong, only fire guns."
Xu Da's eyes lit up, he stood up and said, "Then on behalf of the Liaodong soldiers, I would like to thank Mr. Gu County!"
Compared with traditional fire cannons, the killing range and power of the Far Fire Bureau's fire cannons have been greatly improved. If the Far Fire Bureau is given a period of time, it will be no problem for the infantry to strike first with firearms for two rounds!
The new fire blunderbuss uses iron. With one blow, ten or twenty iron quarrels fly together, hitting people and horses at the same time. The damage is much greater than that of bows and arrows...
