I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

Chapter 357 Radish and Stick

With the conclusion of the discussion on the second matter, everyone present could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This means that the most difficult time is over.

Sure enough, after resting for a while, Lu Fang stood up as before, and after looking around, she opened her mouth to speak.

"The next thing to discuss is the specific matters of maritime trade!"

After Lu Fang finished speaking, Jiajing immediately added.

"Before that, Hu Zongxian wrote me a letter."

"In the letter, Hu Zongxian mentioned that after the imperial court officially lifted the sea ban and reopened Ningbo Port, the number of ships going to sea increased day by day, and the taxes paid were quite considerable."

"For this reason, Hu Zongxian also specifically asked me to send officials from the Maritime Trade Department to Ningbo Port to handle matters related to maritime trade!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he cast his eyes on Gao Gong intentionally or unintentionally, and immediately asked, "Gao Gong, as the Minister of Maritime Trade, what do you think?"

As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Gao Gong stood up and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I received a letter from my subordinate not long ago, and in the letter, I also clarified this matter."

Gao Gong paused for a moment, then added immediately.

"Weichen originally planned to bring this matter up in person through this cabinet discussion, but now it seems that there is no need for it at all."

After Gao Gong finished speaking, he took out the letter Yang Zongtai had written to him earlier from his sleeve, and held it high above his head.

Seeing this, Lu Fang on the side immediately stepped forward, took the envelope from Gao Gong's hand, and handed it to Jiajing respectfully.

Jiajing was not in a hurry to open the letter, but looked at the signature on the letter, thought for a moment, and asked Gao Gong.

"Is this Yang Zongtai the one you recommended to me before?"

Hearing the words, Gao Gong bowed slightly towards Jiajing, and replied respectfully.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this Yang Zongtai is currently the prefect of Quanzhou!"

After getting the exact answer from Gao Gong, Jiajing nodded, opened the envelope, and browsed the contents.

Jiajing quickly read all the contents of the letter, put it aside immediately, looked around, and asked.

"Well, I think it is indeed necessary to send the officials of the Maritime Trade Department to those ports that have been opened!"

"It would also be appropriate to lighten the burden on local officials, what do you think?"

Seeing this situation, Yan Song expressed his attitude almost immediately. He got up from his seat and said respectfully to Jiajing.

"Your Majesty is wise, I feel that the maritime trade matter is of great importance and should be taken seriously!"

Jiajing was noncommittal to Yan Song's extremely positive statement, and immediately turned his gaze to Xu Jie, who was aside, to ask for his opinion.

"Xu Jie, what do you think?"

When Xu Jie heard this, his brain spun rapidly, and he began to weigh the pros and cons.

"Sending officials from the Maritime Trade Department to serve in local areas means that the power of the Maritime Trade Department will be further expanded."

"As for Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, one is the Minister of Maritime Trade, and the other is the Left Supervisor of Maritime Trade. Two against one, I have the advantage!"

Xu Jie quickly came back to his senses and responded respectfully.

"Report to Your Majesty, I have no opinion on this matter!"

Seeing that Yan Song and Xu Jie had expressed their positions successively, Jiajing couldn't help but nodded, retracted his gaze, and said in a deep voice.

"Since you all have no objection to this, I announce that after the cabinet discussion is over, I will send officials from the Maritime Trade Department to take up the post. Their rank remains unchanged, and they will mainly be responsible for handling maritime trade disputes and taxation matters! "

Seeing that the emperor had made a final decision, all the people present said with one voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Jiajing glanced at everyone present one by one, nodded, thought for a moment, and continued.

"The next thing is the last thing, which is related to the official's holiday!"

Hearing this, perhaps because they were too excited, everyone present couldn't help but start to get nervous.

Due to Zhu Yuanzhang's experience in the early years, he did not have any good impression of the group of officials.

Therefore, the officials of the Ming Dynasty, apart from their salaries being the lowest in all dynasties, even had the fewest vacations. Except for the fixed few days of vacation each year, it can be said that the officials of the Ming Dynasty are almost continuous, without much rest time.

And right now, His Majesty is willing to give officials a day off every week, which is simply unheard of!

Seeing that everyone was looking at him expectantly, Jiajing immediately restrained himself and said with a half-smile.

"I plan that from now on, officials, regardless of rank, will have one day off every week to rest!"

"How do you love me?"

As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Shifan stood up and complimented him.

"Your Majesty is wise, I am very much in favor of this measure. There is a saying that if you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your weapon."

"In this way, the officials can devote themselves more fully to their daily work, so as to better share the worries for His Majesty!"

After Jiajing heard what Yan Shifan said, he turned his gaze to the others and asked quite casually.

"How many of you think so too?"

Seeing this situation, the remaining few people had no choice but to nod in agreement.

"Forget it, this matter is settled like this. Later, your cabinet will sort out the matters discussed today and make an official announcement!"

When Jiajing said this, as if he suddenly remembered, he turned his gaze to Zhang Juzheng, and then asked.

"By the way, Zhang Juzheng, how have you implemented what I ordered you to rebuild the Shenji Camp?"

Seeing the emperor asking him about this matter, Zhang Juzheng responded only after organizing his words.

"Report to Your Majesty, at present, I have selected [-] brave men from guards all over the country to join the Shenji Battalion!"

"As for these people at present, Weichen is intensively arranging their training, and they should be able to see results soon."

After Jiajing learned about the specific progress from Zhang Juzheng, he also felt relieved, and immediately waved his hand and ordered.

"I'm also a little tired, so I'll stop here today!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he got up from his seat and walked out of the cabinet. Lu Fang, who had been waiting beside Jiajing, saw this and hurriedly followed Jiajing's pace.

Immediately afterwards, under the leadership of Yan Song, the chief assistant of the cabinet, all the people knelt down on the ground in unison, and saluted respectfully towards the back of the emperor leaving.

"I'm waiting to send you to Your Majesty!"

After the emperor's figure could no longer be seen, everyone got up from the ground and immediately sat down in their seats.

Xu Jie turned his eyes to Yan Song, sighed helplessly, and asked him as if asking for his opinion.

"Old Yan Ge, what should we do next?"

When Yan Song heard this, his face was full of helplessness, he looked away from Xu Jie, and said slowly.

"Follow your Majesty's orders!"

……

Soon, Yan Song and others sorted out the matters discussed in the cabinet meeting today, and then announced it.

Unsurprisingly, the integration of government and gentry to pay food, and the fact that officials will get one day off every week caused an uproar in the capital and attracted countless officials to discuss!
In front of the bulletin board, several officials were gathering together to discuss the above content.

A tall official asked his colleagues beside him after browsing all the contents on the bulletin board.

"What is the meaning of the integration of government and gentry to pay food? Is it possible that we have to pay taxes honestly like those ordinary people, isn't it said that the gentry are exempt from paying taxes?"

When the colleague on the side heard this, he glanced at this person with disdain and replied.

"Is there even a need to ask? Isn't it written in black and white on the bulletin board?"

Hearing this, the tall official couldn't help but clenched his fists. He seemed to be full of pride, and said in a deep voice, as if he was looking forward to death.

"Hmph, His Majesty must have been deceived by traitors, I'm going to persuade His Majesty to take it back!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was ridiculed by his colleagues.

"I see, you'd better not go, and His Majesty will be furious when the time comes, what do I think you should do?"

At this moment, a white-haired old man burst into tears after reading the content on the bulletin board.

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

(End of this chapter)