Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 308 Salt Reform
You must have an attitude of doing things, and you must seek a position in your position. If you only want to get promoted and make a fortune, only want to be opportunistic, but do not want to do more practical things, then it is best not to become an official. Although the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty has always been That's true, but with the arrest and execution of corrupt officials one after another, and with the establishment of the Institute of Integrity, many things are quietly changing.

Household Office.

Shangshu Department.

Although the inquiry between the emperor and his ministers last night lasted until very late, Bi Ziyan still arrived at the Yamen early. As a minister, especially in an important place like the Ministry of Revenue, there were too many things to deal with.

It is worth mentioning that since Zhu Youxiao Yuji ascended the throne, morning dynasties have rarely been held to ask questions about politics. This is a blessing for many civil servants in foreign dynasties.

To be honest, not only the emperor was reluctant to open up the system of the early dynasty, but most of the civil servants in Beijing were also miserable. Spring and Autumn were better, the day was neither cold nor hot, and it could be dealt with, but summer and winter were difficult. It's different. It's either too hot or too cold. Especially in the middle of winter, you have to get up before dawn. You don't even dare to eat more food. If it's dry, don't even think about drinking water. If you drink too much, The morning meeting is on, do you want to leave to deal with it?
Isn't this looking for death?

Not to mention that during the morning dynasty, there were also a group of supervisory censors watching. Anyone who caused disturbances or discussions in the dynasty would be recorded in a small notebook and handed over to you.

Who can bear this.

But then again, although I don’t like to have an early court in my heart, if the emperor does not come to the court to ask questions about government affairs, it is a sign of neglect of government. Therefore, when it is time to give advice, we must discipline and remonstrate. We cannot destroy the patriarchal etiquette at will, otherwise how will we deal with it in the future? How does patriarchal ritual restrain imperial power?

Even now, the Supervisor of Ceremonies receives many such memorials every day. However, these memorials cannot reach the imperial court at all. After being registered and filed, they are shelved.

"Mr. Bige, are you sure you want to do this?"

In the main hall of the Shangshu Office, Yuan Shizhen, the Minister of Salt Law, looked serious. He was sitting on the official hat chair. He looked at Bi Ziyan who was sitting in the main seat and said: "The issuance of bonds by the Ministry of Revenue has been opposed at the cabinet meeting, and There is a lot of discussion among officials in the DPRK. If you want to raise this matter again, I'm afraid..."

"I'm very sure."

Facing Yuan Shizhen's gaze, Bi Ziyan said in a sonorous tone: "No matter how loud the opposition to this proposal is, this matter will be done. If it is not done, the attention of the government and the public will not be diverted. In this way, it will be suppressed." If we want to promote salt reform, we may encounter many constraints and changes."

"This bet must go on. If nothing else is said, only if the salt reform can really be promoted, then the national treasury can be filled, and the broken salt policy can be tightened."

"If it weren't for Yizhi's idea of ​​salt reform, I wouldn't have been able to make such a decision before. After all, the Ministry of Revenue has to issue 800 million taels of bonds, which is not a small sum."

"If I really cannot pay my principal and interest when due, and I have to replace it with the official land in the northern Zhili border, then I, Bi Ziyan, will be the biggest sinner of the Ming Dynasty!"

Last night in Xiyuan, Bi Ziyan said that the key to selling off lies in the salt reform conceived by Yuan Shizhen. He has the confidence to do such a thing now because of the salt reform.

"I think it's a little too risky."

Yuan Shizhen frowned slightly and said: "We mainly focus on the salt reform. If in the actual trial, we encounter more problems or troubles than imagined, I'm afraid..."

"Some risks are worth taking."

Seeing Yuan Shizhen like this, Bi Ziyan said: "The salt reform must be done quickly. Even if it cannot achieve immediate results, we must call the central government and the local government so that everyone can see the attitude of your Salt Law Minister." "Attitude is the key!"

"Just like I am in the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs, if I want to solve the problems encountered, I must make my attitude clear. What's more, what I do is not just to change the salt."

"The problems encountered by the Ministry of Household Affairs are far more than the salt policy you encountered. Let me tell you this. The salt reform proposed by you, Yuan Yizhi, is just one of the problems that I have solved to alleviate the bad administration of the Ministry of Household Affairs. It’s just a ring.”

"But whether you can do this part well will affect my other plans."

"Re-measuring the official land is a start. It will take three to five years for this assistant to re-update the fish scale books and yellow books across the country!!"

Yuan Shizhen's eyes widened and he looked at Bi Ziyan in disbelief, "This may be difficult to accomplish."

"It's difficult."

Bi Ziyan's eyes were firm and he said: "But no matter how difficult it is, we must accomplish it, no matter how many people we offend, otherwise we will never be able to implement the preferential policies such as the abolition of assessed taxes and never increase in taxes." .”

"Besides, the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes that are emerging one after another in local areas should be severely punished, not to mention the phenomenon of tax evasion and tax evasion, which should also be severely punished."

"If these problems cannot be solved, then a full treasury is a joke. The imperial court is currently facing too many difficulties, and the emperor has a lively mind, and many of his thoughts are not understood by others. If the problem of an empty treasury is not solved, I am afraid that the imperial court will be in trouble in the future. We encountered a lot of difficulties.”

The atmosphere in the main hall of Shangshu Office changed slightly.

In fact, many times, even Bi Ziyan didn't understand many of the emperor's ways, such as paying special attention to the young master, and even conferring officials without complying with the etiquette system. This was simply destroying the roots of the imperial examination, but Bi Ziyan There is one good thing about being self-sufficient. Maybe he doesn't understand, but he can keep his anger. He will wait and see what changes happen, and then make decisions based on the development of things.

It was precisely this that led Bi Ziyan to issue bonds through the Shaofu and come up with a good strategy on how to break out of the encirclement.

"If this is the case, clarifying and unified salt law provisions and strengthening the control of salt administration in various places are urgent matters that need to be solved at the moment."

After listening to what Ziyan said, Yuan Shizhen pondered for a moment and said what he was thinking, "Only if we do these things well first and at the same time secretly recruit the salt administration and tax police team, then..."

"In other words, my advice to you is don't be impatient, or don't do it, and do your best when you do it."

At this moment, Bi Ziyan waved his hand and interrupted: "The imperial court has not had unified salt law regulations before, but the differences in different places are too great. How to solve this problem is the key to your implementation of the salt reform. His Majesty previously summoned You allow the Salt Law Minister to take charge of a salt tax police team, which represents His Majesty's determination."

"In the interrogation last night, His Majesty said something. At that time, I didn't think much about anything else. But after talking to you today, I know that Your Majesty has seen through what we have done, involving the preparation of the tax police team. We can temporarily recruit a group of laborers, but as for the backbone, we might as well wait."

Ok?
After hearing what Bi Ziyan said, Yuan Shizhen was a little confused, but after savoring it carefully, Yuan Shizhen's eyes opened slightly, and at that moment he thought of something.

(End of this chapter)