Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 664
Prime Minister's Office.

Emperor Zhu Yihai was reading a report while drinking ginger and osmanthus tea.

Sudden exposure to wind and cold, the emperor's head was dizzy, and his tears were always running clear, afraid of the cold.The imperial doctor advised the emperor to rest more, but in the cold spring of February, various affairs are still heavy.

The Ceylon cinnamon in ginger osmanthus tea, combined with Guangxi old ginger, and Keemun black tea made him feel a little more comfortable, and even his nose seemed to clear up a lot.

"Last year's winter budget estimate was not rigorous enough, it was too conservative."

Holding the warm teacup in his hands, Zhu Yihai raised his head and said to Ruan Dacheng, Ruan Dacheng is the last scholar of the Eastern Pavilion in the cabinet, but he was the secretary of the household department before, so now in the cabinet, the affairs of the household department are also divided.

For the time being in this cabinet, there are only two royal scholars who have conferred the title of prime minister, namely the first assistant Wen Anzhi and the second assistant Wang Zhiren.

Ruan Dacheng came to the Prime Minister's office today, but he was actually called here, not on duty here. The new Minister of the Household Department, Ma Shiying, was also called.

At the Prime Minister's Office, the new Prime Minister and Associate Ministers are also present.

In addition to the two prime ministers in the cabinet, Xu Shiqi, the new censor of the Zuo capital, Wanji, the minister of the Ministry of officials, and Wang Yongzuo, a doctor advising the left, also joined the prime minister.

Wang Xiang, the new governor of the Beijing camp, Zhang Mingzhen and Du Yinxi, the co-organizers of the cabinet, Shen Wenzhong, the envoy of the government, and Shen Youlong, the minister of the Ministry of war, were the co-counsellors.

Ten people in total.

The rest of the Prime Minister's Bachelor of Attendance and Bachelor of Attendance are transferred part-time from Zhongshu Sheren of Zhongshu Division, Zhongshu Sheren of the Cabinet, Imperial Academy, Zhan Shifu, Head of Six Ministries, Yuanwailang, etc., and follow the order.

Divided into four shifts, eight people in each shift, on duty day and night, two days a round.

The ten ministers in the prime minister's office are also part-timers. Every morning after the court, they first come to the prime minister's office to report a few important matters in person, and the emperor will also hand over some important military affairs that he dealt with the day before to the prime minister's cabinet. Seemingly purposeful.

If there is something that needs to be discussed by the ministers and staff, a meeting of the prime minister and ministers will also be convened, or only one or two ministers will be called for the matter.

If there is no special matter, only two Dali will be left on duty in the prime minister's office in shifts, one prime minister and one associate minister. They will not be on duty at night, and the waiter and bachelor will be on duty.

After all, the Prime Minister's Office can't disassemble and read important military aircraft reports in advance, and they don't need them to discuss and propose proposals.

Today the emperor called all ten ministers from the prime minister's office to hold a meeting of the prime minister's office, which was still aimed at budgetary issues.

Last year the emperor engaged in tax sharing.

Leave [-]% of the land to the local government, and [-]% of other taxes to the local government, and only [-]% to the central government.

After adding more reserves to the local area, the local government will have a lot of finances, and of course it will be more convenient to do things, but how to use this money well is not easy.

In addition to the fixed expenditure budgets such as local officials' salaries and office expenses, there are too many non-fixed expenditures, such as road construction, city walls, water conservancy, disaster relief, etc., which can neither be reserved for a little bit, nor can they be reserved too much in advance , how to grasp this degree is more difficult.

Local winter budgets also need to be approved by the central household department, as well as through the cabinet and the emperor.

The central government also has to have its own budget. In addition to the regular salaries of officials, military support, post stations, and school running, there are also river courses, water conservancy, city defense, border towns, regiment training, etc., as well as war expenses and even palace expenses. .

There will be a big battle this year, and the Yellow River will be repaired, so the expenditure will be huge, and the budget will be too large, but Zhu Yihai still cannot be satisfied. It will be too fastidious, and the budget will be too tight, so the implementation will be very restrictive.

"If you don't have enough money, I can draw some from the internal funds, or borrow some from the internal funds to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and even issue bonds instead of discounting the budget."

"The Yellow River has to be repaired this year. Now, when the new river channel meets the rainy season, it will form three branches again, flooding everywhere, endangering dozens of prefectures and counties, and the fertile land in the Central Plains. We can't let it go."

"There is also the amount of disaster relief. The amount reserved is too small and has to be increased. There is no money and no food. How to relieve the victims, how to let the people return to their hometowns, or even settle down on the spot?"

"If the disaster victims are not resettled, it will only cause more damage."

"The budget for military spending is also low."

Zhu Yihai was very dissatisfied, and felt that Ma Shiying was too timid. Of course, this budget was mainly led by Ruan Dacheng when he was the Minister of the Ministry of Households, and it also had the meaning of the previous cabinet.

Now with the new cabinet, the new Prime Minister's Office, and the new Minister of Household Affairs, Zhu Yihai hopes to readjust the budget.

"The imperial battalion has just completed the reorganization of the six towns, which is too slow. I hope that by the end of this year, the reorganization of the eighteen towns can be completed, especially if the armor rate reaches at least [-]%."

"There are also artillery and cavalry marks in each town. The [-]-pound field artillery, the three-pound battalion artillery, and the horses of the cavalry are all relatively expensive. If the budget is not in place, the imperial camp will How to complete the reorganization?"

After the previous major adjustment, the emperor used thunderous means to directly cut off the small signs of taking over the military power of the imperial battalion in the court.

No one can take away the command of the imperial battalion, the imperial battalion can only be directly under the emperor.

At least for now.

In order to hold the direct command of the imperial camp, the emperor even asked the Ministry of Households to provide part of the military expenses, and he settled the rest with internal funds, but still insisted that the lijin income be dedicated to the imperial camp.

The Ministry of Households only paid one-third of the military expenditure of the imperial camp.

But their budget is still too small.

Ma Shiying returned to the center again. Although he failed to join the cabinet like Ruan Dacheng, he was actually very satisfied to be able to return to the center and serve as the secretary of the household department.

He also knew that many people had been staring at them and scolding them as traitors, but in the past two years working hard in Jiangnan, they had made a lot of achievements, and of course, they had offended many people.

Jiangnan was originally the stronghold of the Donglin Party, and it was the base of the emperor when he raised his troops. A large number of ministers and senior ministers came from Jiangnan, but Ma Shiying was under pressure to fully implement the New Deal in Jiangnan.

For each item, he personally took the lead to supervise and implement it, and he was also willing to go all out. He was not afraid of offending others, and he would not give anyone face.

Cleaning up the official land, rectifying the military settlements, levying industrial and commercial taxes, and collecting lijin, each of which will offend countless people.

Fortunately, with the support of the emperor and the successive victories of the Northern Expedition, he can be regarded as a lot of power in the rear.

Now that he has just entered the court, he is facing the dissatisfaction of the emperor.

Ma Shiying also felt a little wronged, so he still tried to remonstrate with the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I think that although the situation in the Northern Expedition is very good, and many places such as Shandong, Henan, Hanzhong, and Gansu have been recovered one after another, I think that the situation in Shandong, Henan and other places is not good. Even Huainan has not recovered. The imperial court recovered these places. carry a huge financial burden.

It is difficult to obtain any taxes in a short period of time, and His Majesty loves the people, exempting the land and silver of the people in these places, and even doing a lot of relief and relief. This is a big hole. These places need to send troops and officials, and the cost of governance is also very high.

I do not object to these benevolent policies of His Majesty, but it is indeed a great burden.

Now it is necessary to repair the Yellow River, relieve the victims, reorganize the imperial camp, the capital camp, the garrison camp, and the outer camp, and even train regiments and suppress bandits, all of which are very expensive.

Military pay, equipment, and war expenses.

At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, although we only occupied a corner of eastern Zhejiang, at that time eastern Zhejiang was basically complete and relatively wealthy. We did not have much burden, and there were not many troops. Money and food, etc.But now we are different, I think that we still have to eat in one bite.

The minister also hopes to invade Beijing immediately and regain the two capitals and thirteen provinces, but haste makes waste.

If His Majesty can be more patient and give more time, then no matter the court, the soldiers, or the common people, it will be much easier. "

"If we reduce the reorganization of a few towns and imperial camps this year, we will be able to have a lot more financially."

"If one less battle is fought, millions or even millions of military expenditures can be saved."

Ma Shiying felt that if the plan was too full, it would be too much of a task to reorganize the imperial battalion of eighteen towns, attack Beijing, take Yingzhou Nanyang, even Jingxiang Hubei, capture Baocheng, and attack Guanzhong. Heavy.

You can't have both.

He boldly proposed that the attack on Beijing might be improved as a feint attack, pretending to attack Beijing, but it was just a bluff.

Concentrate on recovering Henan first, and Jingxiang, Hubei, you can let go first, step by step, fight one battle at a time, don't fight on several fronts at the same time, even if you transfer troops from other towns and towns to fight, the military expenditure will be very high.

Food has to be distributed, food, grass and equipment have to be consumed, not to mention pensions and rewards for wars. These are astronomical figures.

It's better to let the foreign towns, tun towns, and regiment trainers step up their training while stepping up their farming. The imperial court can also enrich their armor and weapons one after another.

Wars still have to be fought by the imperial battalion with better equipment, better training, richer actual combat experience, and more high-spirited fighting spirit.

The imperial battalion played the main force, and the outer town and the town regiment practiced and played as assistants.

If the effect of a feint attack on Beijing is good, it can also force the Tartars to withdraw their troops.

"Your Majesty, there must be a degree of relaxation, otherwise the string will easily break if it is kept taut."

"Your Majesty is young and powerful, so why don't you be more patient. Not to mention ten-year births, it will only take three to five years. At that time, I will be able to completely crush the Tartars and return to the Central Plains. Returning to the old capital is just a matter of course."

Zhu Yihai listened carefully to what Ma Shiying said, and felt that what he said was very reasonable.

I was indeed a little anxious. I thought it was a fight, but now it seems that something is wrong.

In a few years, with the current situation, it is indeed rare, but it is also a little bit to the limit.

Zhu Yihai wanted to go directly to the city of Beijing, but he didn't think about fighting a war in Beijing with the Tartars. He originally believed that if he could really go all the way north, then there might be a battle with the Tartars in the Hejian area.

If we can win this battle, we can go directly to the city of Beijing. At that time, the Tartars will most likely retreat outside the pass, and Beijing will be regained in one fell swoop.

So the key is this battle in Hebei. This may be the last main force of the Tartars. The risk is still quite high.

"What do you dear ones think of Ma Qing's words?"

The first assistant Wen Anzhi said bluntly, "I think what Ma Gong said is very reasonable, first transfer the reorganized six imperial camps to Henan, first capture Yingzhou, then capture Nanyang, and then attack Xiangyang, and fight steadily.

Be it Liaodong outside Guan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Hanzhong, or Hunan, Jiangxi, and Taihang Zhili, they all only harass and restrain them. "

One goal at a time, one step at a time, attack Yingzhou first, then break through Nanyang, and then take Xiangyang and Yunyang, try to avoid fighting on two or more fronts.

Don't rush to attack Beijing, but first chop up the soldiers and horses outside the Tartars. If the Tartars come to rescue, then besiege the city and fight for help, and face the Tartars on the battlefield you are familiar with.

"Wars, especially big ones, have to use imperial battalions, foreign towns, tun towns, regiments and other soldiers and horses. Fighting big battles is too risky."

Wen Anzhi even bluntly told the emperor in public that the imperial battalion of the six towns entered Henan to fight Yingzhou, which was also a great opportunity to regain control of Henan from the local army leaders in Henan. All the army towns go to Yingzhou to listen to the order, and then these army towns can be solved.

If Henan wants to govern and stabilize, these warlords must be dealt with first. Otherwise, it is not enough to just send deputies or exchange some officers. If these warlords are not really dealt with, then everything will be out of the question.

Whether it is reorganization, demobilization or transfer, it has to be dealt with.

Taking the big risk of the Northern Expedition to the old capital now, it is better to clean up the hidden dangers under the nose.

Zhu Dadian, a scholar of the Wuyingdian University, also said bluntly, "Although many of the foreign towns and regiments in Shandong and Henan claim to be rebels, some of them are native villages, and some are from bandits. It is true that everyone beats Tartars, but they control states and counties. , Just like a private land, whether it is conscription or taxation, they all act on their own, the imperial court's legal system is not very easy to use in the areas they control, and these soldiers will not pay much attention to the management sent by the imperial court."

This kind of situation is not unique now, and not only in Shandong and Henan, but it has appeared since the end of Chongzhen, that is, the military discipline of the imperial camp is good, and other armies form their own systems, which are mixed together.

Even soldiers and bandits are inseparable.

"Li Jiyu, the general soldier in Henan, was one of the three major native village forces in Henan during the Chongzhen Dynasty. He also surrendered to the captives earlier. Although he is now attached to the imperial court, his behavior is still the same as before. When they captured Luoyang, they also took All the money and food in the city were robbed, and they even blackmailed the big gentry in the city. In the places they controlled, they privately persuaded them to donate and apportion, not to mention, even plundering was a common thing.

Li Jiyu completely regarded the soldiers in his hands as private troops. The officials sent by the imperial court were unable to open up the situation in the local area for a long time because they deliberately did not cooperate.

Now, as Yuan Fu said, the imperial battalion moved westward to Henan, taking advantage of the opportunity to thoroughly rectify these so-called regiment-trained warlords in Southwest Shandong and Henan, otherwise it will be a disaster sooner or later. "

"Yes, under the previous situation, they were able to stand up against the captives, and the imperial court conferred officials and titles on them, and rewarded them with money and establishments, but that was just a stopgap measure.

Now it must be rectified. If Li Jiyu and others can understand the current affairs, the imperial court can retain their ranks and titles, arrange other official positions, and even give more rewards. His soldiers should be reorganized and dismissed. Give some rewards ,Severance pay. "

Minister of the Ministry of War and Associate Minister Shen Youlong also have this attitude.

Zhu Yihai felt that this sounded a bit like killing a donkey, but from the perspective of the court, it was impossible to connive at the warlord's feudal town unless he was unable to restrain him.

Now that he has this strength and this vacancy, he naturally has to deal with it.

The solution is to drive over the six towns that have been reorganized by the imperial battalion, reorganize and dismiss them directly, and use the powerful force of the imperial imperial battalion as a guarantee. If they resist the order, they will be suppressed.

Of course, Wen Anzhi and the others believed that as long as the imperial court's six towns drove past, they didn't need to directly enter their territory. It is estimated that Li Jiyu, Xu Dingguo, Li Huajing, and Ding Qiguang, the Shandong and Henan regiments, would know the current affairs. Those who obey the court's will should be reorganized and reorganized, and should be dismissed.

Zhu Yihai nodded.

"Then let's talk about how to arrange the generals and soldiers of the towns in the Central Plains. They must be handled properly, and try to avoid undesired situations.

In any case, they are still a rebel army who have made great contributions to resisting the captives. They are a regiment officially organized by the imperial court. Even if the current situation needs to be abolished, they must be properly disposed of. "

(End of this chapter)