Fengtian Temple is a bit cold.
Although Zhu Yunwen expressed his desire to install a new stove in Fengtian Hall, he was directly rejected by the Ministry of Rites. The reason for the rejection was also very simple:
Unbecoming etiquette.
Zhu Yunwen didn't know what it was against etiquette to install several radiators. He said it as if there were no radiators in the Rites Office, but considering that the time he was exposed to the cold was relatively short, Zhu Yunwen tolerated it.
The gift of giving clothes is not simply a matter of taking a few new clothes and saying something like "Put on more clothes when the weather is cold, don't be afraid of the cold" with a smile. It also requires boiling the red beans and glutinous rice that have just been harvested from the crop fields into hot water. The soup is distributed to the ministers, and everyone has a drink first before talking...
It is precisely this kind of custom that until later generations, Nanjing still has the folk proverb "Wear cotton-padded jackets, eat bean soup, and keep out the cold in October."
Zhu Yunwen looked at the court where the neighborhood committee was distributing grain, oil and cabbage, and raised his forehead.
October is finally here.
Zhu Yunwen didn't care about the Winter Clothes Festival. What he really cared about was that October was the day when the rice was harvested and put into the warehouse.
If you have food, you will have confidence.
Although Kaifeng Prefecture, Fengyang Prefecture and other places suffered from floods in the summer, fortunately Zhang Xianzong, Song Li and others had a plan to deal with it. The Yellow River did not burst its banks, and the disaster area was limited, so it was not possible to shake the foundation.
Benefiting from policies such as the One Whip Law, curbing disputes over land, and expanding tax fields and selling farmland in the Wei Dynasty, North Zhili, South Zhili, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, Sichuan and other places had a bumper harvest, both in terms of warehousing grain and tax revenue. The amount of money given to people has increased.
"Guanzi·Herdsman": "If you have a solid warehouse, you will know etiquette; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace."
In the final analysis, food is the rock that maintains etiquette, honor and shame, and the stability of the empire, not a few clothes or a few bowls of porridge.
Conferring clothes to hundreds of officials, conferring clothes to generals in schools, conferring clothes to students... After all this work, it's time to go back for lunch.
In Wuying Hall, they had just finished their meal and had not rested for a while. Huang Zicheng, Zhuo Jing and Yan Qiliang from the Ministry of Revenue, Xia Yuanji from the Director-General of Agricultural Taxation, Xie Jin from the Cabinet, Xu Huizu from Wei Guogong, Ru Ru from the Ministry of War and others came together.
Xu Huizu got straight to the point and said: "Your Majesty, now that the autumn grains are in storage, harvests are good everywhere, the people are safe, and households are full, I would like to ask you to expand the new army's strategy in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, and Shanxi."
"I second the proposal."
Ru Jin expressed his stance.
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Huang Zicheng, who had a gloomy expression. Among the six departments, he, as the Minister of Household Affairs, was probably the most uncomfortable. With less money, it was common to find ways to make money everywhere. It was common to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, but now money Too much is also a problem.
The Fifth Army Governor's Office and the Ministry of War both hope to increase expenditures. After a year of testing, the New Army's strategy has proven to be beneficial and can improve the army's combat effectiveness. However, the scope of the New Army's strategy is currently limited and has not been extended to the whole country. This This leads to imbalance.
The governors and guards in various places issued memorial requests many times, hoping to introduce new army strategies under their rule as soon as possible.
The Fifth Army Governor's Office and the Ministry of War also thought, but the most important thing about whether the new army policy can be expanded in scope is not whether the emperor nods or not, but whether the Ministry of Revenue pays or not.
Without the support of money, the new army policy cannot be implemented, and even if it is implemented, it cannot be maintained.
Huang Zicheng stood up and sighed: "Your Majesty, I think it is too early to expand the scope of the new army's policy. First, the tax revenue from various places has not yet been sent to the capital. Second, the concrete roads, the Great Baoen Temple, the Martyrs' Monument and other civil engineering projects are currently being repaired.
Xing, the cost is huge, the household department needs to make a clear calculation before making a decision. "
"Master Huang, you are not deliberately not allocating money and food, are you? How much money can be spent on civil engineering? The amount of tax revenue is probably 50% more than in previous years? What are you doing with the extra money and food? Why don't you plan for the sergeant earlier? Some benefits."
Ru Yu said with a cold face.
As Minister of War, he must fight for the interests of the army. This is the minimum professional ethics, but this does not mean that he gives up suppressing Wu Xun. This is two different things.
Huang Zicheng looked at Ru Yu and said seriously: "Master Ru, you only saw the increase in taxes, why can't you see the increase in expenditures? Not to mention the basic expenditures of the clan, officials, and sergeants, it is the policies of the new army, medical gauze and Alcohol, Longjiang Shipyard, Yangjiang Shipyard, naval battle expenses, disaster relief, river repair, post-disaster reconstruction, the Third Battalion, the Second Artillery Bureau, the repair and reinforcement of the Coastal Guard Station, the construction of the Great Wall... Which one is not asking for money from the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
"The Ministry of Household Affairs is not a bottomless pit, nor does all the money and grain go in and out. It is not yet the end of the year, and the Ministry of Household Affairs needs to be supported until next summer. How can we easily make big changes? It is not because the Ministry of Household Affairs refuses to do so, but because the Ministry of Household Affairs is powerless. .”
Rujun did not want to argue with Huang Zicheng, and said to Zhu Yunwen: "Your Majesty, the new army strategy should not be postponed any longer. At the end of this year or the beginning of spring, the scope should be expanded to stabilize the morale of the army. It aims to tell the Ming Dynasty sergeants that the court is implementing the new army step by step. Instead of abandoning them!"
Zhu Yunwen said to everyone: "The policy of the new army is related to the military system of the Ming Dynasty and the safety of the country. It should not be delayed for too long. If the balance of the Ministry of Revenue has improved, it should be supported. However, the Ministry of Revenue has also considered everything. As for how much it can come up with, I will I thought I might as well make a plan.”
"planning?"
Huang Zicheng and others were a little confused.
Zhu Yunwen smiled, arranged for Shuangxi to get a big cake, and said to everyone: "The fiscal balance of the Household Department will ensure that the court can run without worries. If the expenditure of the Household Department is too large and the income cannot keep up, it will definitely disturb the people and tax will be superimposed. This is contrary to the court's laws and policies. But if the household department has more income and less expenditure, it will cause wealth loss and waste."
Huang Zicheng frowned.
According to the logic of the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the more money, the better, and the more they keep in their hands, so that the court can get it out if it needs it. Have you never heard of money left in your hands becoming a loss?
Xia Yuanji was puzzled and asked aloud: "Your Majesty, what is the loss of wealth?"
Zhu Yunwen explained: "Money in your hands is just money and cannot bring other value. Only by letting money circulate will the Ming Dynasty's wealth increase. Xia Aiqing, do you have a tael of silver?"
Xia Yuanji fumbled in his sleeves and actually took out a couple of silver coins.
Zhu Yunwen looked at the one tael of silver in Xia Yuanji's hand and said: "As far as this one tael of silver is concerned, if you put it in your sleeve or in the warehouse, it is just one tael of silver and nothing. But you can hold this one tael of silver." , go to the common people or merchants to buy one stone and six buckets of rice, and the common people or merchants have this tael of silver..."
As he spoke, Zhu Yunwen took away the one tael of silver, and then said: "When the people or merchants sold the goods, they would not bury the silver in the ground. They might use it to buy cloth, and the cloth merchants would take this silver." If I have two silvers, I will buy new silk...
"Although there was only one tael of silver in the whole process, the people of Ming Dynasty gained something. You got rice, he got cloth, and I sold the silk. Isn't this wealth? But if you hide this tael in
In the sleeves, the wealth is gone. "
Xia Yuanji looked at Zhu Yunwen hiding the silver in his sleeves, opened his mouth, and wanted to say that it was his own money...
Zhu Yunwen said: "So, the more the household balance is, the less currency is circulating in the Ming Dynasty. Then the people, businessmen, craftsmen, and officials will all face a loss of wealth. In my opinion, the household In terms of finances, the Ministry still needs to make a plan and spend all the money that should be spent. It is most appropriate not to be a brave man."
Xu Huizu's face trembled. He wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Everyone knew that Hu Bu was Pixiu, but no one had the nerve to say it in front of the Minister of Hu Bu, except the emperor.
Shuangxi walked into the hall with a piece of big cake. Zhu Yunwen picked up a small knife and said to Huang Zicheng and others: "I have been studying the expenditures of the Household Department recently and found that some of them are not reasonable at first. In terms of the Ministry of Rites, the money and food distributed every year are It is extremely limited, but the Imperial College is also part of the Ministry of Rites, and the academic officials in prefectures and counties also belong to the Ministry of Rites. If they don’t pay attention to learning and education, how can we develop a civilized society?”
"There is also the Ministry of War. The training of sergeants requires money and food, and the renovation of various military stations requires money and food. I also heard that some sergeants in Guangdong are missing even basic armor and weapons. The Ministry of War has delayed granting them because they have no money. This is all unreasonable. "
"On the other hand, the Ministry of Household Affairs has given too much to settle land reclamation, resettlement of refugees, raising horses and grazing, and commending officials. In the case of Kaifeng, it is obvious that the local government has failed to do anything and tied up the court with policies for poor people. However, the Ministry of Household Affairs allocates money and food every year. , this is not true good, it is evil!”
Huang Zicheng, Zhuo Jing, Xia Yuanji and others lowered their heads.
It is true that the Ministry of Revenue has many problems in terms of fiscal expenditures, but these problems are arranged based on the importance that the Ministry of Revenue considers. Kaifeng's actions or inactions are not the business of the Ministry of Revenue, but the business of the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Revenue does not allocate money and food. Wouldn't it starve to death?
Once too many people die, the place will become unstable and there is no chance of anyone rebelling. Wouldn't it cost more to use a large army?
Zhu Yunwen knew the difficulties of the Ministry of Household Affairs and sighed: "My opinion on how to allocate finances is to make an annual financial budget."
Huang Zicheng looked at Zhu Yunwen and asked, "Your Majesty, what is the annual financial budget?"
Zhu Yunwen said softly: "Taking this big cake as an example, it is assumed to be the money and food received by the Ministry of Household Affairs this year, and this big cake needs to support all the expenses of the court from now until next summer's harvest. Who will eat the big piece? Come and eat small pieces, how to eat them all requires careful weighing and calculation.”
As he spoke, Zhu Yunwen cut the pie in half and said: "In current finance, the largest expenditures are official salary, military salary and clan salary. In the past years, these three expenditures accounted for more than 50% of the revenue of the Ministry of Household Affairs. This year's salary adjustment, Despite the implementation of the new army strategy, the overall revenue of the household department is increasing, and the roughly proportion remains at about 50%."
"Apart from these expenditures, how to distribute the remaining money and food is not only a matter for the Ministry of Revenue, but also involves all ministries and proactively proposes financial strategies. Based on the standards of previous years, current difficulties and future possibilities, the Ministry of Revenue will discuss as appropriate to allocate financial resources .”
Huang Zicheng and others understood that the so-called annual financial budget is ultimately about who may have to spend money, how much money will be spent, and how to eat this pie.
Zhu Yunwen had no way to divide the cake, so he had to divide the big pie. The finances were unbalanced, and the Ministry of Revenue was reluctant to spend money and advocated frugality. This may not be a good thing for the current Ming Dynasty.
The imperial court is not a small family, and it cannot be a miser.
