Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 1033 Ming Dynasty Politics (4)

The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory, so there were bound to be endless issues to be resolved every day at the central level. This required a sound and complete system to resolve various issues that came from the local areas.

None of the officials at the central government have an easy life.

If you really want to keep it simple, just don't get along well with the center.

Since the cabinet change at the end of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, all the ministers from the prime minister to the other ministers have been adjusted. People serving as officials at the central government have keenly noticed a major change.

The emperor, who had always been strong and arbitrary, seemed to be intentionally handing over some affairs to the cabinet. The most significant change was that the various general offices set up by the central government and some departments under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu actually took the initiative to submit official letters to the cabinet. In the past, the cabinet headed by Zhu Guozuo would never dare to think about this.

It was precisely this subtle change that led to a gradual shift in the political turmoil and influence caused by the impeachment and arrest of Qian Qianyi, the former second-in-command of the cabinet, at the end of last year when the cabinet was replaced.

cabinet.

Secondary auxiliary office.

"Regarding the various planned new policy reforms, such as direct payment of taxes in the new currency in Northern Zhili, tax reform in the Ministry of Revenue, land-based tax distribution in the southwest, and salt reform in the General Administration of Salt Law, more detailed screening and summary are required."

Bi Ziyan, then the cabinet's deputy minister, sat on the official hat chair, looked at the officials gathered in front of him, and said solemnly: "You all know the impact of the above-mentioned new policy reforms on the national treasury's revenue and expenditure. The current situation faced by the country is even more complicated. Although various expenditures have been repeatedly screened and calculated, it is an undeniable fact that the annual national treasury expenditures have shown a cumulative increasing trend."

"The circumstances that led to this trend are very complicated. There are frequent disasters every year, improvements in water conservancy, highways, and post stations, increases in salaries for officials at all levels, and additional provincial schools... But all of these that I mentioned are government affairs that the court must resolve."

"The responsibilities of this cabinet are very clear. While ensuring that the central government's fiscal revenue and expenditure stabilize and improve, it is necessary to implement various established national policies. With such large expenditures and such complex national conditions, how to properly solve these thorny problems and expand the scope of the previously established trial new policy reforms is what this cabinet must do!"

All the officials gathered here showed complicated expressions when they heard what Bi Ziyan said.

In fact, since the implementation of some new policies, even though they have effectively changed the situation of the national treasury, various criticisms and attacks have never stopped.

Without him.

Because these new policies affect the interests of too many people.

Don't say anything else.

The previous trial of the tax distribution system in Sichuan alone harmed the interests of many people in Sichuan. Those who owned more land had to pay more taxes, those who owned less land had to pay less, and those who owned no land had to pay nothing. Because of this, many places in Sichuan experienced tax resistance to varying degrees.

For this reason, Zhu Xieyuan, who was appointed as the Governor-General of Sichuan and Guizhou, sent troops to suppress and arrest people. This made Zhu Xieyuan's reputation in Sichuan not very good. Of course, this was only limited to the so-called mainstream, but for the vast majority of the grassroots groups, no one was not grateful to Zhu Xieyuan.

This also led to the fact that when the cabinet was replaced in the fifth year of Tianqi, Zhu Xieyuan was voted into the cabinet with a high vote and became a member of the cabinet, which formed two extremes.

The criticism and questioning from the officialdom have never stopped, giving people the impression that Zhu Xieyuan is an unforgivable traitor. If he were to enter the cabinet to assist in government affairs, there would inevitably be big problems for the country.

However, when Zhu Xieyuan was about to leave his post as Governor-General of Sichuan and Guizhou, the lower-class people along the Sichuan coast lined the streets to petition, hoping that Zhu Xieyuan could continue to stay in office. This put great pressure on high-ranking officials in the southwest, such as Shi Yongan, who was transferred to become Governor-General of Sichuan, Wang Sanshan, who continued to serve as Governor-General of Guizhou, and Min Hongxue, who was promoted to Governor-General of Yunnan.

The lower-class people of the Ming Dynasty were so simple and honest. They had a scale in their hearts to judge who was good to them and who was bad to them.

"For example, regarding the land tax distribution in the southwest, if there is anything you don't understand, you should consult Lord Zhu in a timely manner."

Bi Ziyan, sensing the change in the atmosphere, looked at some people and said, "From the beginning of the land-based tax system in Sichuan, it shows that the Ming Dynasty needs to improve its taxation system."

"Let alone anything else, he obviously has no land to his name, and he has to bear the burden of supporting his family. He relies on renting land for planting, or other businesses to earn money to support his family. In peacetime, it's okay. If the family tightens their belts, they can pay the tax. But if they encounter a disaster, it will be like the sky falling!"

"When Sichuan tried to implement the land-based tax system, the Sichuan-Guizhou Governor's Office and the Sichuan-Guizhou officials conducted a secret investigation into the current situation of infant drowning among the people. At the same time, the Ministry of Revenue also dispatched personnel to conduct an investigation in Henan, which is very prone to disasters. How shocking is the comparison of these investigations!!"

"Don't worry, sir. I will do a good job on this matter."

The person in charge of this matter immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "By the end of this year at the latest, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue have decided to try out the policy of allocating land tax to the land in Northern Zhili, Liaodong, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, etc. They will come up with a set of feasible guidelines to ensure that the policy is actually implemented in various places."

“Everyone can say nice things.”

Upon hearing this, Bi Ziyan leaned forward and said, "You are all carefully selected by me to serve in the various departments responsible for the trial implementation of the new policies. I hope you can understand that often a very small omission will cause a huge deviation when it is passed down from the central government."

"Among you, there are old men from the Ministry of Revenue."

"When I was still a group minister, I set various tax reform policies in the Ministry of Revenue. However, in the actual implementation, especially the tax on temple property, although it has achieved considerable results, it has also caused many loopholes, resulting in the loss of many good interests and even imprisonment!"

"Every time I think of this, I think of one thing. If I had been more careful at the time, perhaps these tragedies would not have happened. An official must be impartial. The pen in our hands can sometimes kill people!"

Compared with several years ago, Bi Ziyan is more stable and looks much older. He is 57 years old this year, but he feels like he is in his 60s.

My hair has turned a lot greyer.

His beard has turned a lot greyer.

It was not easy to be the Minister of Finance of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention that in the new cabinet, Bi Ziyan became the second assistant of the cabinet. In addition to the Ministry of Revenue that he had been supervising, he was also assigned a lot of affairs and powers.

This can be clearly seen from the emperor's performance in some matters, having stayed in the Western Garden after the new cabinet was formed.

If we say that the cabinet headed by Zhu Guozuo played a more stability-maintaining role, doing its best to ensure that the overall stability of the Ming Dynasty could be maintained under turbulent circumstances, it should do its best to maintain stability in the central fiscal revenue and expenditure, and ensure that the impact of certain events would not be magnified.

Then this cabinet had more roles to take on, otherwise Zhu Youxiao would never have asked some officials to separate and transfer the matters that were previously reported directly to the emperor to the cabinet.

Zhu Youxiao's energy is limited.

He felt that the path he had opened up in the past had a solid foundation and could expand the scope of reform. Even if some problems arose, the new cabinet would be able to handle them properly. Zhu Youxiao had already begun to hand over the power.

This way he will have more energy to deal with matters that are still in the development stage or encounter difficult problems.

Zhu Youxiao's attitude towards the previous cabinet was more of a distant one, but in this cabinet, Zhu Youxiao's attitude has changed a lot and the relationship is closer. Because this cabinet minister, from the chief minister to the group ministers, each one was carefully selected by Zhu Youxiao to help him solve the accumulated problems and cancers of the Ming Dynasty and open up a new path for the Ming Dynasty.

"Lord, Yuanfu wants you to come over."

At this time, a secretary walked into the main hall. Under the strange gazes of some people, he walked quickly towards Bi Ziyan and bowed to him.

Ok?
Bi Ziyan frowned slightly when he heard this, but after a brief doubt, he knew that something big must have happened, otherwise the Prime Minister would never act like this.

"You guys wait here first."

Thinking of this, Bi Ziyan stood up and said, "I will go see Yuan Fu first, and when I come back, we will continue to discuss the rest of the matter."

"promise!"

Everyone responded loudly.

Bi Ziyan ignored all this and walked out of the court with his robe lifted. However, on his way to Yuan Fu's office, Bi Ziyan was wondering what the matter was that required him to be called over so urgently.

But when he met some people, Bi Ziyan realized that things were neither simple nor unusual!

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The cabinet ministers Yuan Keli, Zhu Xieyuan, Huang Liji, Wang Yongguang, Liu Hongxun, Wang Zaijin and Li Changgeng all rushed to the prime minister's office from all over.

When these people saw Bi Ziyan, they also realized that something big had happened.

Since the formation of the new cabinet, there were too many things to do, especially when this cabinet was formed, the Military Affairs Council was also reorganized. This allowed the Ming Dynasty to officially finalize the general tone of separation of civil and military power at the central level. This change had a huge impact on the Ming Dynasty's political arena and officialdom.

This is exactly the case. Whether it is the cabinet or the Military Affairs Council, it is rare for all the top leaders to gather together. But today's cabinet is destined to be different.

This also made the officials who came and went from the cabinet secretly wonder in their hearts when they saw this scene, what on earth had happened that actually called the cabinet officials together? !

"Greetings, Prime Minister!!"

Under such circumstances, the voice coming from the Yuanfu Office interrupted the brief peace.

"Everyone, take a seat."

Sun Chengzong, with a serious expression, stretched out his hand to signal Bi Ziyan and his group.

Upon seeing this, Bi Ziyan, Yuan Keli and his party went back to their respective positions. But when they saw Sun Chengzong's expression, they knew that the matter was serious.

As the chief minister of the new cabinet, Sun Chengzong had a heavy burden. He knew better than anyone that it was the emperor's will that allowed him to sit in this position.

One of the things we need to do is to implement the basic principle of the separation of civil and military power in the Ming Dynasty, and also to ensure that the strategic policy of the Ming Dynasty is to move forward alternately by land and sea! !

Just to get these things done, Sun Chengzong knew that he was destined to cause a lot of controversy and criticism, not to mention that under this general tone and strategic policy, his cabinet still had to do a lot of things, such as expanding the scale of governors-general stationed in the vassal states, deepening the opening of the sea to trade, and increasing the development of intensive handicraft manufacturing industries, etc. The implementation of these controversial and divisive strategies was a huge headache for Sun Chengzong.

But under such circumstances, Sun Chengzong had no choice but to move forward.

Because when he was elected as the prime minister of the new cabinet and was summoned by the emperor, some of the things he saw and heard in the Yuxi Palace made Sun Chengzong unforgettable.

"Sun Qing, under my leadership, the Ming Dynasty is moving towards a new path. No matter how many people oppose, criticize, or question this path, this step has already been taken and there is no reason to take it back, because in front of, behind, left, and right of the Ming Dynasty, except moving forward, everything else is a bottomless abyss."

"I don't want to be a king who loses his country. I also believe that no one in the Ming Dynasty wants to be a subject of a lost country, right? So the burden on your shoulders is very heavy. I hope that Sun Qing, as the chief minister of the cabinet, will do what the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty should do, instead of being hesitant and hesitant!"

These words had a great impact on Sun Chengzong.

These words even made Sun Chengzong understand that the new cabinet headed by him was the responsible cabinet that the emperor really wanted to see. In addition to doing a good job in all the established affairs, their cabinet must also set an example for subsequent cabinets.

That is, what exactly is a responsible cabinet!
"I called you here urgently because something happened."

After an unknown amount of silence, Sun Chengzong said in a low voice, "The imprisoned Qian Qianyi attempted suicide but failed."

"what?!"

When Wang Zaijin heard this, he blurted out in disbelief: "How is this possible!"

As one of the cabinet assistants and concurrently in charge of the Ministry of War, Wang Zaijin had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, because starting from him, all the powers in military affairs had to be thoroughly clarified. According to Zhu Youxiao's idea, the structure of the Ministry of War would be retained and would be under the cabinet. One of its important responsibilities was to clarify the annual military expenditure.

"Yuan Fu, where did this news come from?"

Bi Ziyan glanced at Wang Zaijin, then stood up and said to Sun Chengzong: "Logically speaking, this shouldn't have happened. The Qian case was decided by His Majesty, and His Royal Highness Prince Xin is in charge."

"This matter was reported by someone sent by the Emperor."

Sun Chengzong frowned and said, "We know very little about this matter, but it is full of mysteries. If Qian Qianyi committed suicide, some things will be unclear. But why did Qian Qianyi commit suicide? This is what we need to find out now."

This is really a big deal.

When Bi Ziyan and the others heard this, they all thought secretly in their hearts that ever since Qian Qianyi was impeached and arrested, this man had become a taboo in the Ming Dynasty's political arena. Just the information disclosed by the Censorate had shocked many people. No one had expected that the second assistant minister of the cabinet would actually do such a thing.

But some things cannot be ignored just because they have become taboos. They still need to be solved, not to mention that this is closely related to the southeastern provinces.

But at this moment, Sun Chengzong and others felt that a storm was about to come, because there were too many strange things about Qian Qianyi's failed suicide attempt.

(End of this chapter)