The emperor went to court for the first time after his illness, and he left before he lasted long. However, the ministers did not leave just yet. They had to handle some court affairs in the palace, and the emperor sent people to supervise them.
Inside the Wenhua Hall.
Many desks and cushions have been set up long ago so that ministers can sit down to deal with and discuss these matters. There are many matters that have been backlogged for a long time. It is normal for the backlog of matters to last three to four months and half a year. , there were many things that the ministers thought the emperor had forgotten, but who knew they would just leave them unmentioned.
Li Dongyang had a long discussion with the Minister of Revenue, Ji Zhong. When he came back, no one followed him, and those present deliberately kept their distance from him so that he could discuss matters alone with Liu Jian.
Li Dongyang delivered a booklet that was not a memorial but just a newspaper to Liu Jian and said, "Last year, the government increased the amount of silver by more than 2 million taels, and the expenditure reached 1.26 million. Two, which can be regarded as the highest number in the past few years."
"Oh"
Liu Jian has never been very clear about the expenses of the inner government, so he couldn't help but pick it up and take a look.
Li Dongyang commented, "More than half of them were brought back from overseas. Outsiders don't know exactly where they were brought back from. But I heard that if we send ships out to sea after the beginning of spring, we can bring back a lot." ."
Liu Jian said with a bit of worry, "The sudden increase in silver will probably lead to rising prices."
Although there is no economy in this era. However, the theory of inflation brought about by the additional issuance of currency also has a general outline in the minds of these traditional civil servants. As a minister of state governance, if he does not understand this basic principle, then Liu Jian does not need to mess with it. .
“It’s strange,” Li Dongyang said. “In addition to the basic construction of temples and Taoist temples, the increased expenditures of the inner government are all spent on military expenditures, especially large-scale purchases. We have purchased military rations, and even purchased a lot of grain cultivated and grown by merchants in the northwest. But even so, the price of grain has remained at a low level this winter. Instead of rising, it has fallen.”
"Really?"
Liu Jian couldn't help but frown.
Although cabinet ministers are equivalent to prime ministers without formal titles and deal with state affairs, they are not directly related to the lives of ordinary people. Regarding matters such as market food prices, they only listen to others I won't go check it out personally.
Li Dongyang took out another copy and handed it to Liu Jian, who then opened it and read it.
"This is reported by Dongchang. Comparative changes in grain prices in various parts of the north since last year's spring famine. The prices of various crops are listed on it. Even if it is not clear how much is true and how false, it can be compared with households. The ministry has asked, and there is basically no difference from the actual situation. Moreover, after the autumn grain harvest, last year was not considered to be smooth. Disasters and famines were still common in various places, but the scope of disaster relief was not reduced. However, even at the end of the year, the government's grain stocks were still there. There has been an increase."
After Li Dongyang finished speaking, he was already waiting for Liu Jian's opinion.
Liu Jiandao, "If the local officials are covering upPretending to be a disaster, whitewashing peace, or even imposing excessive taxes is unacceptable and should be thoroughly investigated. ”
“No way to investigate. "Li Dongyang said, "It may be that the stored grains in the past few years were released last year, which may bring about food prices after the spring famine. Hard to say. ”
Still have no clue.
Obviously there was not a good harvest of grain, and the emperor brought so much silver from overseas, which should have caused inflation. After all, grain prices are the most intuitive manifestation, but the result However, food prices did not rise but fell, people's lives were stable, and there was no excessive taxation or even forced payment of food by the court.
"Check again. check. "Liu Jian has no opinion, he can only reserve his opinion.
Li Dongyang nodded and said, "The matter still needs to be investigated. There is still news that after the spring, Zhang Bingkuan will be in Yongping Mansion and other places. The promotion of new food crops, whether it is a big or small matter, has been approved by His Majesty and does not intend to be decided through the imperial court. "How about that?"
The meaning is obvious, do we want to fight to the death and not allow Zhang Zhou to mess around?
Liu Jian did not give an accurate attitude.
< p>After the two were silent, Liu Jian suddenly asked, "The cabinet has not seen Zhang Tingmian's memorial in the past few days. Have you seen it today?""Not yet. "Why?" Li Dongyang wanted to ask, why he suddenly cared so much about Old Man Zhang
Liu Jiandao, "He has done a good job in matters in the northwest. He first participated in the impeachment of Ma Yi, led to the impeachment of Wang Shouren, and made people Thinking that he is unique or in control of the overall situation, it turns out to be a joke. His son followed Ma Yi to the grasslands and made military exploits. Now he wants to be rewarded based on his merits. How is this?"
Liu Jian I'm also annoyed.
If it hadn't been for Zhang Mao's efforts to impeach Ma Yi, the cabinet would not have been so sure that the war in the northwest was over, and it would not have made such a big mistake on the issue of Xie Qian. .
Right now, Liu Jian is holding a book of merit-based rewards issued by the emperor. Today, the ministers went to the Wenhua Hall to discuss matters, mainly to discuss how to reward meritorious soldiers. Gong, Liu Jian was naturally very angry when he thought that he had been swayed by Zhang Mao.
Li Dongyang seemed very calm about this matter, saying, "Zhang Tingmian seems to be a far-sighted old fox, but when it comes to matters of great right and wrong. He has repeatedly been greedy for small things and lost big things. First, he sat back and watched Zhang Bingkuan's rise. Now he is leading the troops in person and still can't see the situation clearly. It can be said that he is old and confused. Even if he knows the good news about the grassland at this moment, he can pretend to be ignorant or be forgotten by others. The more he jumps at this moment, the easier it is for others to catch him. This kind of person is incompetent and cunning."
Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty kept him in the northwest this time because he clearly wanted him to look good. Since he can't bear to break the pus, let's help him. When you go back to look for someone, you must look for him secretly, to find out whether he has done nothing, is old and comatose. "
Li Dongyang smiled and said, "This is not like beating up a drowned dog."
Liu Jian said with a bit of cruelty, "He won't fall into the water.", the ones who fall into the water are people like us who have been arrogant for a long time in peace and quiet. Even if he wants to retreat bravely, we have to push him forward. The grievances and conflicts in the Governor's Mansion are not something he can let go of if he wants to. ”
“Yeah. "Li Dongyang nodded.
It seems that the two of them can completely reach a consensus on the issue of dealing with Zhang Mao.
Ningxia, Huamachi.
Zhang Mao sat there with an indifferent expression, while in front of him Zhong Decai was still reading out a detailed battle report, some of which were written by Zhang Rui himself. As for Liu Jing on the side, he just wanted to find a crack in the ground to get in.
< p> "Hmm, let's talk about it. I've lost my face to my grandma's house. Now that my son has led his troops out of the grassland and joined forces with Datong's troops, there won't be any more accidents, right?" Say, if I continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb, others will forget all the scandals about me. So and so, aren’t you very capable? If you impeach this and that, will I still have the face to return to Beijing in the future?"Zhang Mao didn't think this mistake was his own fault.
Of course he had to rely on Liu Jing to give him advice. Now he wanted to take Liu Jing's skin off.
Liu Jing also had a distressed look on his face and sighed, "Master, haven't you already blamed me? Why did you bring up the old matter again today? Didn't we think of ways to make up for it?"
< p>"Fart"Zhang Mao slapped the table, stood up and said, "The reputation I have worked hard to accumulate for half a lifetime has been lost in just one day. It is clear that my son won the battle, and others But you are laughing at me like a fool and asking me to thank you. It means that I still have important responsibilities, otherwise I should have found a place to hang up a jumping rope and kill myself."
Zhong Decai said hurriedly: " Father, you can't do this. ”
Zhang Mao was originally angry at Liu Jing. After hearing this, he couldn’t help but glared at Zhong Decai angrily, meaning that you can’t do this and use you to remind me that I don’t know that my life is precious< /p>
Liu Jingdao, "The transfer order from the imperial court has not yet come. As for whether you have merit or demerit, I'm afraid it's hard to say. Why don't you personally submit a memorandum of apology so that His Majesty, for the sake of being a veteran of three dynasties, will "You"
Zhang Mao frowned and said, "You are coming up with a bad idea again."
"How could this be a bad idea? I am doing it all for your own good." Think about it, if you didn't mention this matter, no one would come out to make a fuss," Liu Jing said hurriedly.
Zhang Mao sneered, "Originally, it might have been an option for me to go to the doctor to apologize, but after As soon as you said this, I knew that this was not advisable. "
"This" Liu Jing also looked embarrassed.
Why, it doesn't work if I mention it. It means that all my ideas are bad.
< p> Zhang Mao said, "It's wrong to take Zhu Dongyang into the ditch first. You take yourself into the ditch first. If the Empress Dowager hadn't protected you, you would have died hundreds of times. When you get old and return to the court, I really thought that I had achieved a level with half a lifetime of experience, but I didn’t know. I played chess every step of the way, and I thought I was very capable.Even if I die, I will never listen to your advice again. ”Zhong Decai also hurriedly said, “My lord, I don’t think it’s time to go to court to plead guilty. Maybe His Majesty is worried about how to punish you. If you go to court like this, it will play into His Majesty’s will.” "
"Yes"
Zhang Mao said, "Even if I die, I can't admit my mistake. I'm just talking about the matter. When Ma Yi didn't listen to the order and led the troops into the grassland, shouldn't I be able to impeach him? So what if he took my son to fight? When I participated in the impeachment of him, did I avoid relatives? Now that I have won the battle, I feel that I was wrong."
Liu Jing muttered in a low voice, "Chaozhong That Mr. Xie Ge probably thinks the same as you. "
"What did you say?" Zhang Mao was furious.
You actually compared me to a person who was sentenced to prison
Liu Jing was also a little unhappy. He simply raised his voice a little this time and said, "In terms of participating in the impeachment of General Ma, the Lord did make a mistake. As the saying goes, knowing your mistakes can make a lot of improvements. If you don't mention it, I'm afraid." Your Majesty will be even more angry, and you may not even think about returning to Beijing for a while. ”
Zhang Mao said, “Since your majesty doesn’t look down on me, why do you want me to stay in the northwest? The wind and sand in the northwest are so strong, do you think it’s good to eat and drink? Whoever your majesty trusts will be allowed to come.”
< p>"Master"Just when Zhang Mao was complaining, the voice of the herald came from outside.
"If you have any trouble, hurry up." Zhang Mao also has a bad temper, not at all. Gentlemanly.
Hearing that Zhang Mao was getting angry inside, the herald did not dare to go in, and said hurriedly, "There is a decree from Beijing, saying that you should stay in Ningxia to deliver the message." People have already entered the military camp, do you want to go out and take a look?"
"What"
Zhang Mao opened his mouth wide, almost thinking that he heard wrongly.
Liu Jing said with a surprised look on his face, "The battle report from Datong has just arrived, and His Majesty's decree to keep you in the northwest has arrived. It seems that His Majesty has been prepared for it." "
"Humph"
Zhang Mao glared at Liu Jing again, and then quickly walked out of the camp.
Night fell.
In the theater, Zhang Zhouzai met with Zhang Yong.
Zhang Yong smiled and said, "It is a good thing for us that your Majesty keeps the British Duke in Ningxia. Everyone in the capital camp talks about you with admiration." , it is said that no one in this world can surpass you. Even throughout the ages, you have been the number one counselor and general. Among all the soldiers in the world, who can compare with you?"
Zhang Zhou said, "This cannot be said. Nonsense. What I rely on is not making suggestions, but more about getting a new weapon and giving them a platform. "
"Is the platform a wooden platform or a stage?" Zhang Yong still doesn't quite understand.
Zhang Zhou laughed and said, "I am just the manager of a theater troupe. I bring the singers to the stage. They personally, I am just a spectator. When they get results, they will put money on my face, and I will just take advantage of it. ”
Zhang Yong said hurriedly, “Master, you are really self-effacing. Each and every one of them was cultivated by your discerning eye.”If it weren't for you, I dare say that no one in this court would have such ability. ”
“Haha. "Zhang Zhou just smiled.
He who succeeds is king. Now the Ming Dynasty is winning battles everywhere. If Zhang Yong wants to curry favor with him, he will naturally say good things about him everywhere.
Although the flattery sounds awkward, after listening to it for a long time, even Zhang Zhou felt that if you don't hit the smiling person, who would turn away such a person who said nice things?
"Since the British father returned, No, sir, it will be up to you to decide on the procurement and other matters for the Beijing camp in the coming year. According to the preliminary budget, the expenditure on ordnance and other expenses for the Beijing camp in the coming year will be about 130,000 taels of silver. If we add food and salary, etc., the amount will be It probably takes more than 300,000 taels. ”
“Oh, quite a lot. "Zhang Zhou nodded.
The Ming Dynasty's taxes mainly collected rice grains, and the silver income was two to three million taels. Including rice grains, the value is about six to seven million taels.
< p>The expenses of the Beijing camp only accounted for one-twentieth of the revenue of the Ming Dynasty, which is relatively reasonable.Zhang Yongdao said, “But if His Majesty wants to go on a personal expedition in the coming spring, the money will not be enough. Regardless of whether it can be fought out or not, just prepare to build more ordnance, which will require more than doubling the amount. The Ministry of Household Affairs must not be able to count on it. In this winter, I heard that the output of iron ore and coal mines has dropped. It is estimated that it will cost a lot more to make a firearm or something before spring. ”
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, “Eunuch Zhang is indeed a foresighted and prepared person. ”
“No way. "Zhang Yongdao said, "His Majesty did say before that he would prepare for an expedition in the spring. For this expedition, we would need to prepare two to three hundred thousand soldiers and horses with food, fodder, ordnance and baggage. Even the Beijing camp would have to be mobilized. There are 50,000 to 60,000 people. If we recruit more from various places, I'm afraid it won't be enough. "Please remember to bookmark this chapter when you finish it. The latest and fastest website is free to read without anti-theft