Daming: I, the emperor who trains the carpenter

Beijing's winter,
The fine snow in the sky is like catkins fluttering and falling wantonly from the sky.

Not only the capital, but the whole of Beizhili is snowing. This light snow brings more joy to the people. There will be a snowfall at the end of the year. The harvest next year will not be too bad.

Inside the Meridian Gate, the red walls and gold tiles on both sides have turned into red walls and white tiles. Looking around, the entire imperial city is covered with a layer of hoarfrost. Zhang Haogu and others walked in thick cloaks. Between the tall red walls, the narrow passage is now covered with snow.

"The officials of the household department have all arrived." Zhang Haogu asked Lu Xiangsheng who was on the side.

Lu Xiangsheng nodded: "The officials from all departments of the Ministry of Household Affairs have arrived, and the taxes from various places have also been submitted."

"Well, I didn't encounter any major problems this year. It's a good thing. It's not easy to live a peaceful and stable year." Zhang Haogu said and looked up at the sky, the snow was fluttering in the wind, and he couldn't see anything clearly. .

Zhang Haogu knows that what is being done right now is not enough, and more needs to be done. In order to cope with the outbreak of the Little Ice River in the future, the court still needs more preparations and more back-ups, not to deal with any man-made disasters, but to Fight against natural disasters.

All the way to Wenyuan Pavilion, at this time the officials of the various divisions of the household department and many eunuchs in the palace were already waiting here. As soon as Zhang Haogu and others arrived, they saw Zhu Youxiao waiting on Wei Gonggong Come quickly.

"Your Majesty sees you."

All the people saluted in unison to pay respects to the Supreme Ming.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand: "Forget it, everyone is here, let's start."

In Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhu Youxiao sat at the head, Zhang Haogu and others sat on both sides, with Zhang Haogu, Zhang Ruitu, and Lu Xiangsheng on the left, and Huang Liji, Qiao Yunsheng, and Qian Qianyi on the right.

Except for Sun Chengzong who left the town of Liaodong, the Ming cabinet assistants are all here.

Under the few people, calculations, planning, papers, and books of account books are placed on tables. The officials of the household department of Ming Dynasty are sitting here. There is a stove around them, and the burning charcoal fire provides enough heat to block the door. The cold wind outside.

Lu Xiangsheng glanced at Zhu Youxiao, and then said, "Let's begin."

Soon the sounds of crackling abacus and calculations and the sound of rustling writing came and went in the cabinet, while Zhang Haogu, Lu Xiangsheng and others who were proficient in calculations were also calculating numbers in their own minds.

"Shandong Province, Jinan Prefecture 150 billion, Qingzhou Prefecture 110 billion, Dongchang Prefecture 110 billion, Yanzhou Prefecture 140 billion, Laizhou Prefecture 150 billion, and Dengzhou Prefecture 770 billion for a total of [-] billion."

"Henan Province, Guide Mansion 130 billion, Kaifeng Mansion 120 billion, Henan Mansion 120 billion, Nanyang Mansion 60 billion, Runing Mansion 55 billion, Zhangde Mansion 63 billion, Weihui Mansion 760 billion , Huaiqing Mansion [-] billion, a total of [-] billion.”

"Shanxi Province. A total of 680 billion"

"Hubei Province."

"Zhejiang Province."

The taxes of the 24 provinces and governments of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty have been submitted for unified calculation and summarization. Zhang Haogu and Lu Xiangsheng both showed satisfied expressions. The tax revenue of Daming this year is undoubtedly much higher than last year. .

...

Without the burden of last year's flood disaster, and Annan and Mongolia can also provide a lot of tax revenue to the imperial court, this makes the tax revenue of Daming rise steadily this year.

When the final numbers came out, everyone was taken aback.

"The total tax revenue of the imperial court this year is 360 billion!"

"Eight thousand three hundred and sixty-five billion?!"

"hiss"

As soon as the number was calculated, Huang Liji pulled off a few of his beards without paying attention.

How is this number so high? !

Zhu Youxiao couldn't believe it when he heard this figure. Last year's tax revenue was only about 300 billion, but this year it was more than [-] billion, which is equivalent to an increase of [-]% in tax revenue!
After calculating, Lu Xiangsheng said: "Your Majesty, there is no error in taxation this year, and the imperial court spent too much last year.
Combined with additional spending and local restoration after floods and natural disasters in various places, this is the bulk of the lost tax revenue. "

"And this year, not only Henan can pay taxes normally, but Jiaozhi and Mongolia have provided tens of billions of taxes to the imperial court. In addition to this year's industrial development and the opening of the sea policy implemented at the beginning of the year, the trade between various states and our Ming Dynasty is close. A large amount of taxes, these add up, there is no problem with more than 8000 billion in taxes.”

Zhu Youxiao nodded. After calming down and calculating, he found that it was true. There is really no problem with this tax. Although the taxes provided by Jiaozhi and Mongolia are not much, it is quick to make money from trade with Bangguo.

North Korea, the Western Regions, the vassal states and island states in Southeast Asia, as well as the Wa Kingdom, Dutch, Portuguese fleets, etc., they brought gold and silver goods to Ming Dynasty and took away a large amount of silk, tea, porcelain, etc., which really made the court a lot of money. Pen.

Although these are contracted by businessmen, businessmen also have to pay taxes.

Taking a look at the final record, Zhu Youxiao's eyes widened. This is the first year of opening the sea, and overseas trade can provide hundreds of billions to the imperial court!

What is this concept?
"It's no wonder that the old man Chengzu encourages overseas trade. Over the years, there is still no shortage of money in the Southern and Northern Wars. This overseas trade is really profitable." Zhu Youxiao muttered to himself.

The current Daming is not the one that just came out of poverty and war during the Yongle period. The current Daming has gone through 260 years, and now the population is booming, and all kinds of industries are well-developed. With the development of industry, all kinds of good things emerge one after another. Dazed, he is willing to exchange a large amount of gold and silver for various things of Ming Dynasty.

In the first year alone, it brought tens of millions of taels of tax revenue, among which the southeast coast and other places contracted more than 800 billion yuan, which is equivalent to more than 800 million taels of tax revenue. More attention has been paid to sea trade and the southeast coast.

Among other things, Jiangnan is still the most important financial and taxation center of the imperial court, and this area provides more than a quarter of the imperial court's tax revenue.

In fact, regardless of the 24 provinces of Ming Dynasty today, what can really provide tax revenue to the imperial court depends on the coastal provinces and the northern provinces that fully implement the New Deal and industrialization.

For example, places such as Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangdong, and Fujian all add up to [-]% to [-]% of the annual tax revenue of the imperial court. north-south core.

...

After the tax statistics are completed, the various ministries submit their respective plans to the cabinet. At the same time, the Ministry of Households submits the salaries and welfare expenditures of officials this year. This money will be distributed before the end of the year.

Official salaries in the Ming Dynasty are not paid monthly, but once a year. At the end of the year, they receive a year's worth of silver. Usually, the court provides food and lodging, and there are benefits for various festivals. Xia Dong's ice silver and charcoal silver are paid according to festivals, and a year After that, even a ninth-rank official can support the whole family and still have a lot of money left.

Serving for the imperial court, I will never lose you.

After the statistics of various expenditures are completed, the Ministry of Households will conduct a unified calculation and approval. Not only the expenditures of each ministry for the next year must be calculated and statistics, but also the plans for next year of each province, the military expenditure of the new army next year, and so on.

All in all, the imperial court will allocate half of the more than 8000 billion yuan it has received immediately, and a lot of the rest will be allocated. After all, the imperial court still has various infrastructure projects and water conservancy projects to be constructed.

The capital at the end of the year is always extremely lively.

The governors of all provinces have to return to Beijing to report to the Ministry of Officials to submit their one-year performance reports. At the same time, they have to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to apply for funds. There is also an annual gift for others.

For these funds, the provinces are constantly walking around the capital for their own expenditure plans for next year. The amount of funds approved next year determines the development of their provinces next year and their political performance.

The governors of all provinces are from the second grade, who doesn't want to take this from the second grade.

There is a term of three years, and every year the first-class assessment can be judged and there is a chance for promotion. Who doesn't want to make political achievements, who doesn't want to join the cabinet.

Of course, these governors not only have to run around in the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Households, whether it is the Ministry of Officials or the Ministry of Households, they are all under the control of the New Party.
At the end of the year, party officials in various places will also come back to their posts to explain what they have done for a year.

And Zhang Haogu, as the leader of the new party, is the chief assistant of the court, so there are quite a lot of people who come to visit and walk around at the end of the year.

These exchanges of favors cannot be avoided and rejected, and Zhang Haogu has to do these things while sitting in this position, he is very clear.

The walking around at the end of the year is over, and the end of the year is coming.

On the Zhengdan Festival, Zhu Youxiao held a state banquet in Fengtian Temple for civil and military officials, envoys from all over the world. The lively atmosphere of celebration made everyone beam with joy.

Accompanied by the sky full of fireworks and the sound of rumbling firecrackers in the capital, the 11th year of the apocalypse came to an end, and the 12th year of the apocalypse officially arrived.

Zhu Youxiao allowed the officials to act on their own after having a banquet with the officials and envoys from various countries. Anyway, this state banquet is to reward the officials.

Anyway, Zhu Youxiao was not a well-behaved emperor, and the so-called etiquette was dispensable to him.

After leaving the main hall, looking at the fireworks going off from all over the capital and the bright moon in the sky, Zhu Youxiao had a satisfied smile on his face: "The fireworks in this world really make people linger and forget to return."

"Your Majesty has ruled this prosperous world, I congratulate Your Majesty." Zhang Haogu walked to Zhu Youxiao's side.

With a smile in his eyes, Zhu Youxiao admired the beautiful scenery: "The prosperous world, good."

...

"In the past few days, I have visited the capital privately in micro-service. I have seen the happiness of the people in the capital. They can eat fruits, vegetables and fish. I have seen the children dressed warmly and playing carefree. I feel very comfortable. .”

"It's all thanks to Your Majesty's sageness that we can have such a beautiful view." Zhang Haogu's words are not just a compliment, but also what he thinks in his heart. If there is no Zhu Youxiao's wise decentralization of power, and the monarch and ministers do not doubt, would there be the current prosperity of the Ming Dynasty?

Zhu Youxiao took a sip of wine from the plate held by the eunuch at the side, and said calmly: "There is nothing holy or not. When I first became emperor, I didn't know what I should do until I went with you, Master. After visiting the real people and seeing the real situation of Ming Dynasty, I realized that the emperor is not only a right, but also a responsibility."

"Speaking of which, what I admire the most is the old man Taizu, the old man Chengzu, and the emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. They were very talented and bold, and they had to bear corresponding obligations for any rights. They undoubtedly did what they could. The responsibility I assume, right now, is nothing more than learning from them and taking up the responsibility of the world.”

Zhang Haogu said: "Your Majesty is not inferior to Tang Zong and Song Zu."

Zhu Youxiao shook his head: "It's not enough, it's not enough, I still have to surpass them."

Looking at Zhu Youxiao today, Zhang Haogu could see the strong ambition in his eyes. It was the ambition to let the people of Ming Dynasty live and work in peace and enjoy a peaceful life. Territorial ambitions, this does not conflict.

The so-called Mingjun Shengzhu, the inner sage and the outer king.

With the end of the Zhengdan state banquet, all the officials of the Ming Dynasty officially entered the rest period, and Zhang Haogu rarely had a few days off.

But he is destined to be restless, there are countless contacts during the New Year's festival, and after dealing with Zhang Haogu, he doesn't care about rest, so he left the capital directly and sat in a carriage to check the situation in Beijing, Tianjin and Chidao.

Zhang An, who was dragged out of the house, was obviously a little helpless: "I said, young master, it's Chinese New Year, so you have to take a rest after dealing with so many human relationships. Isn't it good to stay at home with the young lady?"

Zhang Haogu was wearing a thick brocade cotton gown with sleeves tucked away: "I think you miss your Tweety."

Zhang An chuckled and said nothing.

Zhang Haogu looked at the snow-covered area outside the capital city, the wheels of the carriage ran over the snow and left two clear ruts extending to the distance.

Zhang Haogu did not bring many people with him when he came out this time, only he and Zhang An, not even the guards.

Arriving at the construction site of the Beijing-Tianjin Chi Road, Zhang Haogu looked at the busy workers who were still busy, and said with a smile: "Look, aren't people busy during the New Year's Eve, and you just want to rest."

With that said, Zhang Haogu walked up to the
go.

Seeing a young man who was obviously dressed in extraordinary clothes and was either rich or expensive, the person in charge of this construction site also hurried forward. After stepping forward, the person in charge was stunned: "Yuan, Yuanfu, you how"

Zhang Haogu smiled and waved his hands: "I just came to see, what's your name?"

The person in charge quickly said: "Shen Ming, a subordinate of the Chidao Yamen of the Ministry of Workers and Workers, Beijing-Tianjin Chidao Division."

"Shen Ming, you are a responsible person. This pavilion has recorded you." Zhang Haogu could tell that this official named Shen Ming from the Beijing-Tianjin Chidao Division was not simply a guard, he had been working with the workers all the time. Yes, you can tell by looking at those cracked hands that he is a hard worker.

...

Zhang Haogu likes hardworking people.

"Tell me about the current situation of the Beijing-Tianjin Chi Road construction." Zhang Haogu said as he walked deeper into the construction site.

Shen Ming followed Zhang Haogu and explained: "Yuanfu, the Beijing-Tianjin Chi Road was built from the capital and the Tianjin government, with a total length of 260 miles. Now the two ends are being built. Up to now, [-] miles have been completed. The remaining section It was almost completed around the Lantern Festival.”

Nodding his head, Zhang Haogu smiled and said, "The construction speed is not slow. How are the workers doing?"

Shen Ming said: "The workers rest on time, and the meals are full. Steamed buns, noodle cakes and vegetables are full, fish soup is eaten a day, and meat is eaten once a week. At the same time, workers have one day off every six working days. The workers work in shifts and rest. , Chidao construction has not stopped, and this is the current progress."

"Speaking of which, it was the first time for the workers to build. They were a little unfamiliar at first, but then the speed became much faster, but we didn't rush the construction period for the sake of quality."

While listening to Shen Ming's narration, Zhang Haogu looked at the busy figures of the workers. Looking at them, Zhang Haogu frowned slightly: "Did you provide gloves to the workers?"

This winter is different from the past. It is freezing cold. People without gloves will freeze their hands in a short time and are prone to frostbite. The Jingjin Chidao Division should not fail to notice this.

Shen Ming sighed when he heard Zhang Haogu's words: "Yuanfu, we naturally equip the workers with gloves, but cotton gloves are inconvenient for construction, so the workers took off the gloves. Many of these tasks are delicate. I can't do it with thick cotton gloves."

For these Ming Dynasty workers, the initial construction of Chidao was indeed a delicate job. After all, whether it is sleepers or railroad tracks, it is necessary to be firm and stable at the first level, and various inspections are required to confirm its reliability. Construction with thick gloves is inconvenient.

Zhang Haogu didn't say any more, but only asked Shen Ming to keep warm and provide food for the workers, and leave after the construction expenses were settled on time during the New Year's Eve.

These workers are all working overtime here because of the high salary offered by the Beijing-Tianjin Chidao Division during the New Year's Eve.

In order to complete the opening of Jingjin Chidao as soon as possible, the Jingjin Chidao Division spent a lot of money.

After leaving this section of the road, Zhang Haogu continued to drive forward in the carriage, and saw the road under construction at the other end dozens of miles away.

After inspecting the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin Chi Road, Zhang Haogu returned to the capital.

With the current industrial progress of Ming Dynasty, it is beyond Zhang Haogu's expectations to build a [-]-mile Chidao in such a short period of time. The next thing to wait for is the trial run of the Chidao.

Finally, after the Lantern Festival, the Beijing-Tianjin Chidao Department reported to the imperial court that the Jingjin Chidao had been built and could be opened to traffic.

This good news made Zhu Youxiao pay attention to it, and went to Chidao to watch it in person.

Civil and military officials, merchants, and common people also came to watch the grand opening of the first expressway in Ming Dynasty after they got the news.

Around Beijing-Tianjin Chidao, there are huge crowds of people, and Jin Yiwei is responsible for maintaining order, while merchants and common people are crowded on both sides, and everyone stands on tiptoe and looks forward.

And Zhu Youxiao has his own position, looking at the dark road in front of him winding all the way to the east and disappearing into the sky, and then looking at the train that has already been prepared, Zhu Youxiao said to Zhang Haogu who was on the side: "Is it almost time?"

Zhang Haogu looked at his pocket watch and nodded: "Well, let them open to traffic."

Following the order, Sun Qifeng, the servant of the Chidao yamen, stood in the middle of the Chidao and cut off the red silk that was clustered into clusters, announcing loudly:

"The Beijing-Tianjin Expressway is completed and opened to traffic!"
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Daming: I, the emperor who trains the carpenter