The road of the farmer's fortune and the imperial examination

Chapter 585
"You will avoid the important ones and ignore the minor ones. Your good apprentice said it was a preface to discuss with Gu Chengyu. However, I asked him some questions about the law, but he couldn't answer them. I believe you have already made up your mind about the facts. .Xia Aiqing! That disciple of yours is not good enough!"

The emperor cast a glance at Xia Qing, and said earnestly.

Xia Qing hurriedly kowtowed to the emperor to admit his mistake, "Please forgive me! Min Feng is a young man, and when he first entered the officialdom, his mind will inevitably be affected. Please forgive him for the sake of the veteran."

The emperor didn't shout, Xia Qing naturally didn't dare to.Besides, regarding Min Feng's matter, he still needs to change things around.

Seeing that Xia Qing had softened, the emperor also sighed in his heart.Xia Qing is somewhat sincere towards Min Feng, and can even intercede for Min Feng.

He looked at Xia Qing who was kneeling down, and seeing that there were silver threads on his temples, he couldn't help thinking that Xia Qing had followed him when he was still the prince.

After he ascended the throne, he was diligent and conscientious.Although her heart is big now, she did not collude with the princes after all.

"Xia Aiqing, you are an old minister, and you have shared a lot of my worries over the years. But you should know how to deal with the crime of deceiving the emperor."

Even though the emperor has softened his heart, he will never allow anyone to despise the imperial power.

Although there is no reason for this matter, but he is the emperor, he said it was a crime of deceiving the emperor, that is the crime of deceiving the emperor, who would dare to object?

As soon as Xia Qing heard it, he knew that it would take a lot of money to make it.If the emperor really wanted to punish Min Feng for the crime of deceiving the emperor, he would have made the order without waiting for him to come over.

Xia Qing thought for a while, and remembered that a few days ago, the Minister of the Ministry of War played a book in Chaoshang.

It is said that the payment of the soldiers guarding the border has been delayed for more than four months. If the imperial court does not pay the salary, those soldiers will even be cut off from food.

The emperor was furious when he heard this, and asked why the household department didn't pay the salary.But the household department said that there was no salary, and kept crying for poverty, and the emperor was so angry that he almost fell ill.

There is no money in the household department. This is something that everyone in the court knows.But to say that there is none at all is certainly impossible.Not to mention making up all of them, but making up for two months first, that's enough.

But the salaries of soldiers guarding the border are not small, and they need millions of taels.

The household department is the money bag of the imperial court. If all the silver is given to the soldiers guarding the frontier, once something happens to the imperial court and the money is required, how can the household department get it out?

It is May at this time, and Daxing is also the season when the grass grows and the warblers fly. There is food and drink, and the possibility of war is very small.

Therefore, the Ministry of Households procrastinated and delayed, not in a hurry.

Xia Qing thought for a while, if he could solve this matter for the emperor, the emperor would not only be able to spare Min Feng, but also be very happy about it.

However, this matter is somewhat difficult to handle.

First of all, the emptiness of the national treasury needs to be resolved; secondly, Shen Shikang, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, has a bad relationship with him. If he goes to find Shen Shikang, needless to say, he will definitely return disappointed.

He has to ponder over it carefully to see who in the court can open his mouth.

If Shen Shikang can be caught, the matter will naturally be resolved.But Shen Shikang is a treacherous and cunning person. They have been officials in the same court for so many years, but no one can catch Shen Shikang.

The second prince has a pure character and seems to be mediocre, but he has nothing to hold on to.

For those insignificant little things, it's fine to put eye drops in front of the emperor on weekdays, but it won't work here.

For a moment, Xia Qing suddenly felt that he was at a loss.

At present, the most troublesome thing for the emperor is the salary, and everything else has to be sidelined.

Xia Qing was ruthless, even if she racked her brains, she still wanted to solve this matter for the emperor.Besides, the emperor has become more and more indifferent to him recently, and it is time to show some merit.

Having figured this out, Xia Qing pondered for a while before saying: "Please forgive me! It is my minister who has no way to teach me what I have done, so I let him do such a wrong thing, please give me a chance to redeem my meritorious deeds." .”

The emperor took a deep look at Xia Qing, since Xia Qing has bowed his head and surrendered, don't blame him for throwing the blame.

It happened that he was worrying about the side pay, although the household department was crying poor, but that was true, so he didn't force the household department to pay money.

He didn't care what method Xia Qing used, as long as he didn't search for the people's fat and people's cream, he found a way to settle the one-month silver owed by the side pay.

He only needs to make up for one month, and the remaining money will be sent to the soldiers on the border to send some food, and he will not pursue Min Feng's fault any longer.

As for the other three months, we can only procrastinate.

The emperor sat down before the imperial case, feeling exhausted physically and mentally.He couldn't sleep these days and nights because of this matter.

If the border payment continues to be delayed like this, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers on the border, and this matter is imminent.

"Now the national treasury is empty, and you know it. The household department couldn't get any money, and came to cry with me. The soldiers on the frontier owe their salary for several months. What can you do?"

The emperor looked at Xia Qing, and stopped beating around the bush, and said directly.

Xia Qing did not expect that the emperor would directly raise this matter, it seems that the emperor is also very anxious.

"My Majesty, according to my minister, I still have to find a solution from the Ministry of Households. It's not that the Ministry of Households has no money, but Shen Shangshu refuses to take it out. I feel that the most urgent thing is to ask the Ministry of Households to take out the silver and send it to you." Go to the frontier to solve the urgent need."

The emperor frowned, Xia Qing didn't know that the household department had no money.

But he also said that the Ministry of Households should take it out for emergency first, but if the national treasury is empty and something major happens, such as a flood in the local area, wouldn't it be just a matter of watching?

"There is no money in the treasury, don't you know? If you can get the money from the household department, why should I worry about it?"

Before thinking of a way to fill the national treasury, the little money left in the treasury must not be moved, and the emperor couldn't help but feel disappointed in Xia Qing.

After all, there is no sure way.

"Your Majesty! The treasury is not full because the imperial court doesn't have much income. I think it's better to raise the tax for those merchants. Those merchants are very rich, and they have to do their part for the imperial court."

Xia Qing has long complained about the taxation of merchants.It was easy for merchants to make money, but the tax money collected by the imperial court was not as much as that of land property.

It is absolutely impossible to increase the taxation of land property. Originally, the taxation of the common people was only about [-]%, and they could barely make ends meet without experiencing a famine.

So up to now, land property tax, population tax and salt and iron tax have become the main taxes of this dynasty.

But those merchants were full of fat intestines, and he had long wanted to bite off a piece of fat from these merchants.

However, it is not easy to raise taxes.Most of those big merchants have backers, and I don't know which official is standing behind them.

Besides, there must be a reason for raising taxes. If it is raised on the original basis, it will naturally make those merchants cry.Therefore, it must be cleverly established.

The emperor thought about it after hearing the words, merchants naturally have money, but if you want to get money from them, you have to have a name.

It's not that I didn't think about it before, but five years ago, all kinds of business taxes have been increased by [-]% compared with the original ones. If it is increased again, it will be unreasonable.

"Do you have a regulation on this matter?" The Manchu officials were helpless, so he wanted to see what Xia Qing could come up with.

　Thank you book friend South City and North City North. R. A tip from book friend Time Wutong Kongxin and book friend Situ Qianfan!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)