Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 388 Liaodong Pass

Qianqing Palace.

Dong Nuan Pavilion.

Zhu Youxiao sat on the throne and looked at the cabinet ministers standing in front of the imperial palace, but he was not in a hurry to say anything. Everyone knew why this imperial court meeting was held, so Zhu Guozuo, Qian Qianyi, and Sun Ruyou Waiting for the cabinet ministers, even though they don't seem to have changed much on the surface, they have different thoughts in their hearts.

To solve the shortage of disaster relief funds in Shandong, the emperor is willing to use internal funds.

This is a very critical thing.

If the emperor's attitude is extremely resolute and he is unwilling to use internal funds to make up for the shortfall, then if there is a shortage of money and food raised by Shandong's officials, a large number of victims will probably die under Shandong's rule.

Time passes minute by minute.

The atmosphere in Dong Nuan Pavilion is very subtle.

Liu Ruoyu, Han Zanzhou and others who were serving in front of the emperor had their heads lowered. They did not dare to make even a slight sound, let alone raising their heads to observe.

"Is the memorandum submitted by the cabinet to the emperor the final decision?"

I don't know how long it took, Zhu Youxiao leaned forward, picked up the tea cup on the imperial desk, and looked at the cabinet ministers standing there, "In addition to squeezing out 30 taels of silver from the national treasury, can't we squeeze out even a pound of grain?" ?”

coming!

After hearing the emperor's question, the ministers gathered here were all highly concentrated, and many of them even looked at one place.

"Start your Majesty."

Bi Ziyan sighed secretly, stepped forward to bow and said: "This is the final decision of the cabinet. The Ministry of Revenue can embezzle up to 30 taels. Any more will affect other matters."

"The disasters under Shandong this time include floods and locust plagues. The situation is relatively complicated. According to Yuan Keli, the governor of Shandong, if we want to solve the disasters in Shandong, in addition to strengthening disaster relief, we must also rectify water conservancy, and even Yanzhou, Many sections of the Cao Canal between the two prefectures of Dongchang also need to be renovated."

"Considering the previous river administration inspections in Henan, Lianghuai and other places, which caused some local turmoil, even if Shandong officials purchased grain from Huguang and other places, I roughly calculated that the amount of money allocated for disaster relief in Shandong this time would be as much as one million taels. In this way, It can solve Shandong’s needs once and for all.”

It’s hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice!

Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly and put down the tea cup in his hand. There were too many messes left in the past, especially in the later period of the Wanli Dynasty. The political philosophy he adhered to more often was to muddle along, and he could fool around one day at a time.

Just like the water transport mentioned by Bi Ziyan, this grand canal that runs through the north and south of the Ming Dynasty actually needs to be repaired in many sections, especially in the area where the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers meet. A large amount of sediment is packed into the Huaihe River, although most of the sediment is carried into the Huaihe River. Rushed into the sea, but there are still residual silt, which has raised the river bed after years of accumulation.

Fortunately, Pan Jixun, an expert in river control, summarized and proposed the Yellow River control strategy of "building embankments to contain water and using water to attack sand" and the strategy of "storing clear water (Huaihe River) and clearing muddy water (Yellow River)" to protect water transportation, and invented the " "The method of beaming water and flushing sand".

Otherwise, not only the water transportation will be interrupted, but the Ming Dynasty floods will intensify. The Yellow River will bring countless harms to China, which is dominated by the small-scale peasant economy.

"There is no money in the internal funds." Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Bi Ziyan after thinking for a moment and said: "However, the Shandong disaster relief issue cannot be delayed any longer. It must be resolved as soon as possible."

A word stirred up a thousand waves.

No one expected Bi Ziyan to explain these situations, and the emperor would have such an attitude. The key is the disaster relief issue in Shandong, which must be solved, but how to solve it!

Zhu Guozuo, Qian Qianyi, Sun Ruyou and other cabinet ministers had different expressions on their faces. This situation was the most difficult to handle.

Speaking of which, since Zhu Youxiao Yuji came to the throne, he has allocated the least amount of internal funds among all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Even if it is allocated, it is only hundreds of thousands taels, or more than 200,000 taels. The key is the amount of internal funds allocated. The money must be repaid by the national treasury, otherwise it will be gone.

I won’t mention the distant ones. Just say that when Emperor Taichang Yuji came to the throne, he allocated millions of taels from internal funds. Without comparison, there will be no harm!

What many civil servants in the central government don't understand the most is the emperor's internal money, and he is very picky about state affairs. But when it comes to military affairs, he is quite generous, and even many people don't understand. The emperor guards his internal affairs. Money is not for pleasure. What I like most is building big projects. What on earth is this fun for?

If you are content with enjoying yourself, you can still find ways to criticize people from above and criticize them from the moral high ground, but this is not the case.

"Your Majesty, I am stupid."

Under this situation, Bi Ziyan looked serious and bowed to the emperor: "I really can't think of how to properly solve the disaster relief in Shandong with such a shortage of disaster relief. If there is really no money to allocate internal funds, Then I might just have to stop some of the scheduled matters and solve Shandong’s dilemma first.”

Bi Ziyan, the Ming Dynasty's richest man, knew better than anyone that the emperor must have reserves of gold and silver in his internal funds, and the amount must be quite large. But when the emperor said this, he must have hidden ideas for solving Shandong's disaster relief.

Having been with the emperor for so long, Bi Ziyan knew his temperament very well.

Despite his young age, he has great ideas and courage!

The attitude towards certain things is to either not touch it at all. Once it is touched, it will definitely cause a big storm!

Just like the Integrity Commission's thorough investigation into Beizhili Cangchang's deficit, how many people were arrested during this period, most of whom were either skinned and stuffed with straw, or were sentenced to death. The deterrent force was so strong that Bi Ziyan thought of Emperor Taizu Gao.

"Why do we have to stop some matters?"

Zhu Youxiao leaned on the cushions with a faint smile on his face, "Since neither the national treasury nor the internal funds can provide sufficient disaster relief funds to alleviate Shandong's predicament, why don't you think of raising funds?"

Ok?

Everyone who heard this said the ministers looked puzzled. They didn't know what the emperor meant by saying this.

"The situation in Liaodong is basically stable now. Although the Jianlu rebellion has not yet been suppressed, I feel that the previously closed checkpoints can be reopened."

Zhu Youxiao continued: "It is better to block than to open up. I have investigated the smuggling case outside the entrance through the factory guard and arrested a large number of demons and monsters. I know one thing. It is unrealistic to shut down the Jianlu by shutting down the customs, let alone shutting down." Gueguan also caused the grassland tribes adjacent to the border to frequently invade the border areas of the Ming Dynasty, causing great losses to the border areas."

"Since this is the case, it is better to reopen the checkpoints. However, when it comes to iron materials, gunpowder, ordnance and other contraband items, the court will intensify strict inspections. Anyone who dares to smuggle the above-mentioned items to the border is not a criminal. It's as simple as confiscation, but we should be punished as treason, and once found out, our homes will be confiscated and our families will be exterminated!!"

(End of this chapter)