Daming: If I find a great-grandson, I will teach an emperor through the ages

Chapter 121 Hundreds of officials were shocked one after another!Cao Wei is such a good person!

Cao Wei just finished speaking.

"coax!"

The hall suddenly exploded, and everyone couldn't help but move their feet, stretched their necks and looked forward.

The surface of the silver stone in the box between them has a grayish color, and occasionally there are one or two places that shine with white silver light.

Most silver is extracted from silver stone, but some people have seen it and some have not.

Any country attaches great importance to things like silver mines, and mining and protection work are naturally very confidential. Apart from the broken silver and silver ingots circulating on the market, even some officials at the top do not know much about what silver stones are. Looks like.

At this time, many people started to murmur when they saw the dusty silver stone in the box.

"Is this thing the Silverstone?"

"It doesn't look like much."

……

Up high, Zhu Yuanzhang also quickly took out his reading glasses from his arms, put them on the bridge of his nose, stood up, took Zhu Xiongying's hand and came to the box, opened his eyes and looked at it carefully.

As an emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally saw things like silver mines and silver stones that were related to the lifeblood of the country.

In the 21st year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang personally went to inspect the silver mining in Wenzhou.

However, after so many years, Zhu Yuanzhang's memory of that time has become blurry. Now when he looks at the silver stone in the box, he feels like it but not like it at the same time, and he is not sure.

If these are really all silver stones, it proves that Cao Wei has really found the rich mine he said the Japanese country had!
Zhu Yuanzhang waved to the crowd,

"Yan Zhenzhi, come here and show us."

Yan Zhenzhi had already noticed in the crowd that the box was indeed silver stone. Faced with Zhu Yuanzhang's order, he still came to the box, observed it carefully for a while, and nodded excitedly.

"Your Majesty, these are the silver stones used to refine silver ingots. From my perspective, the silver content of these silver stones is higher than the silver stones produced by most of the silver mines in the Ming Dynasty."

The ministers were immediately shocked and smacked their lips.
"Really Silverstone?"

"What are you talking about? How could Mr. Cao be a person who doesn't know the importance of things? How could Mr. Cao mess with such an important matter?"

"Does that mean that the Japanese silver mine was found by Mr. Cao? How easily did the Japanese give up the silver mine?"

"Is there really a silver mine in Japan? My eyes have really been opened this time!"

"Could it be that Marquis Zhongtian is the reincarnation of an immortal from the sky? How could he know the location of the silver mines in Japan thousands of miles away!"

……

When Zhu Yuanzhang got the affirmative answer, his heart skipped a beat. He felt in disbelief and looked at Cao Wei in front of him with wide eyes.

Although Cao Wei once said that Japan had silver mines, for various reasons, Zhu Yuanzhang chose to believe it.

But when Cao Wei really brought the silver stone in front of him, he still felt shocked and incredible!

Still the problem,

The Ming Dynasty and Japan had not communicated with each other for more than 20 years. How did Cao Wei know that Japan had such a high-quality silver mine?
Cao Wei could use the idea of ​​an outsider to fool the inexperienced Zhu Xiongying, but outstanding people like Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di would never believe Cao Wei's lame excuse.

If there is such a capable person, he will definitely not be unknown. He just happened to meet Cao Wei and passed on his mantle to him.

Could it be that Cao Wei was born knowing that it was impossible...

Cao Wei noticed the shock and confusion in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, and smiled honestly.

On the other side, Zhu Xiongying looked at Cao Wei with extremely passionate eyes!

Hou Zhongtian is so awesome!

Zhu Yuanzhang came back to his senses and suddenly burst into laughter. While laughing, he circled the box twice.

"Good! Wow!"

With that said, Zhu Yuanzhang turned back and sat on the high and spacious dragon chair again. He stood straight and stared at Cao Wei below with fiery eyes.

"Cao Aiqing, please tell me how you found this silver mine."

"The Japanese country is thousands of miles away, but you can dig out this silver mine. Hey! You really have a way. We all admire you a little."

"Your Majesty is wrong."

Cao Wei cupped his hands, answered, and then told the story of his trip to Japan.

After seeing Hou Guishan, he first asked for guilt, and then picked up and killed Zhang Zicheng, who had been causing trouble in the Japanese country. After that, he retreated and took over Shijian Mountain without any effort. Even the consumables for mining silver mines were Provided by Kameyama, the Emperor of Japan.

"At this time, the silver mine has only been mined to the edge. The amount of silver stone mined in a day is less than a hundred kilograms. Once the silver mine is mined on a large scale, its output will be greatly increased!"

After Cao Wei finished speaking, the other ministers looked at Cao Wei with envy.

Without spending a single copper, without damaging a single soldier, we found such a huge high-quality silver mine for the Ming Dynasty. What a great contribution this is!
When Cao Wei insisted on going to sea to look for silver mines in Japan, many people present looked at the joke and wanted to see Cao Wei, the Marquis Zhongtian who had made many contributions and had become a big celebrity in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, finally make a fool of himself.

After all, it was impossible to go to the Japanese country, which was blocked by the ocean, to find a silver mine that no one had heard of or seen.
But now Cao Wei used actual actions and results to slap them in the face with his bow left and right.

Looking at Cao Wei who once again made an unparalleled contribution, they could only envy him and regret that they did not have the ability to make such a great contribution.

You have to throw it away when you compare goods, and you deserve to be compared with others...

"Hahahaha, good! good! good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed out loud again.

"You have helped us vent our anger this time."

Nodding, he continued,

"Cao Aiqing, you have made such a great contribution this time. Tell me, what reward do you want? Apart from the stars and the moon in the sky, we can't give you anything else!"

The civil and military officials in the audience took a breath of cold air again!
Zhu Yuanzhang's words didn't mean that except for the throne, which could not be given to Cao Wei, Cao Wei could do anything else he wanted.

Cao Wei is now the second-grade Zhong Tianhou. It can be said that he has become wealthy for the first time and has truly become a true master.

Those officials below who do not have enough positions may be said to be officials, but in fact they are still working hard. They have no power and no power. It depends on the look of their superiors. If they have benefits, they dare not take them. If they cannot take them, they will be more likely to be implicated if something goes wrong.

But when you reach Cao Wei's level and status, your fate is no longer in the hands of others, unless the emperor wants to mess with you.

However, Cao Wei is still a Hou with a foreign surname at this time. With the same rank, he cannot be compared with Uncle Hou of the Zhu family, nor can he be compared with the founding fathers of the country. After all, their connections are intricate and intricate. deep.

This time Cao Wei makes another contribution, which is his chance to make a complete comeback!
As long as Cao Wei opened his mouth and intended to marry one of the daughters of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, and got married to the royal family, he became a relative of the emperor.

As long as Cao Wei's title is raised again in the future, he will be truly linked to the royal family. In the future, if he has a few more sons to join the court, everything will be worry-free!

Didn’t the former founding generals and the top nobles of the Ming Dynasty marry princesses in this way to consolidate their own power?
There are still two daughters of Zhu Yuanzhang who are unmarried at this time, namely Princess Hanshan and Princess Ruyang.

As long as Cao Wei chooses one to marry, he will completely turn over!
From now on, most of the ministers in the court will have to take a look at the face of Marquis Zhong Tian.

With Cao Wei's achievements this time, as long as Cao Wei is willing to make this request, Zhu Yuanzhang will definitely agree without any hesitation!

Just when the ministers were making small calculations with different thoughts, Cao Wei handed over again.

"I thank His Majesty for His grace!"

"Since His Majesty said so, I really have a merciless request."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, with a faint smile still on his face, "Tell me."

"I hope that your Majesty can raise the salaries of all your colleagues after the Japanese silver mines are fully exploited."

All of a sudden!
Everyone in the hall held their breath and could hear a pin drop.

All officials, both civil and military, raised their heads and looked at Cao Wei blankly.

Did they hear it right?

Cao Wei used such an extraordinary achievement to ask Zhu Yuanzhang to give them a salary increase?

Cao Wei took a boat trip to the Japanese country, and his brain was damaged?Even Lan Yu, Xu Yungong, Yan Zhenzhi and others in the audience widened their eyes in disbelief.

They didn't realize that Cao Wei had such a compassionate heart.

All the ministers were confused!

In the Fengtian Palace, officials have always been cunning and deceitful among themselves, and they don't want others to be kind to them.

Cao Wei's sudden appearance made them feel as if they were in a dream.

However, at this time, in the main hall, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Xiongying, and even the eunuch chief standing with his waist bent, all felt like a mirror in their hearts.

Before Cao Wei left Yingtian and went to Zhejiang, he discussed with Zhu Yuanzhang in the Imperial Study Room about opening the sea.

At that time, Cao Wei made this request. If he successfully found the silver mines in Japan, Zhu Yuanzhang would be allowed to appropriately increase the salaries of the officials.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this request, he was naturally puzzled and asked Cao Wei why.

Cao Wei said that this was also to extend the life of the Ming Dynasty. The specific reason was very simple.

Zhu Yuanzhang was too harsh on the officials in the DPRK!
As an emperor who rose from humble beginnings to the throne step by step, Zhu Yuanzhang could be considerate of the people and be kind to them.

But Zhu Yuanzhang was a little unkind to the officials who served in the Ming Dynasty.

The most intuitive thing can be seen from two points.

The first is the strict laws against Ming officials who committed corruption and bribery and broke the law.

The second is the salary of Ming officials.

Strict laws are easy to understand. Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the decline of a country began with official corruption, so he wanted to fundamentally eliminate bad habits in official circles.

Cao Wei also understands and fully supports this point.

Corrupt officials should die at any time!
They accept stolen money, suck the blood and sweat of the people, and are the worms of the country.

Zhu Yuanzhang had no problem restraining officials with laws.

But the problem is that while Zhu Yuanzhang established strict laws to eliminate official corruption, he also established too little salary for Ming officials!

Cao Wei has achieved the position of second-grade marquis with various merits, and his annual salary is [-] dan, which sounds like a lot of salary.

But Cao Wei's salary is blessed by his title.

Without buffs such as titles, the annual salary of an ordinary official, converted into lumi, is as follows:
The first grade is 750 stones, the first grade is [-] stones,

The second grade is six hundred stones, the second grade is five hundred stones,

The third grade is four hundred stones, the third grade is three hundred stones,

The fourth grade is 270 stones, and the fourth grade is 240 stones.

The fifth grade is 180 stones, and the fifth grade is 160 stones.

One hundred stones for the sixth grade, ninety stones for the sixth grade,

The seventh grade is eighty stones, the seventh grade is 75 stones,

The eighth grade is seventy stones, from the eighth grade is 65 stones,

The ninth grade is sixty stones, and the ninth grade is fifty stones.

Similarly, from the second-grade official level, Cao Wei had [-] shi lumi per year, while ordinary officials only had [-] shi.

Such a disparity ratio cannot be said to be huge!

When you reach the ninth rank official level, you only have fifty or sixty shilumi a year.

There are senior officials and junior officials, and the whole family can only eat fifty or sixty shilu rice a year, which is really stretched.

As long as you are an official, you have to pay attention to the pomp and circumstance. Even a ninth-grade Zhima official has to have one or two servants at home to look after him.

The servants also need to eat, so fifty or sixty shilumi is not enough, so I can only budget carefully and save money.

This situation does not only exist for low-ranking officials, but also for officials with higher grades.

A high-ranking person will naturally have a higher status, live in a larger house, raise more servants, and even have a carriage to facilitate travel. Naturally, it is indispensable to welcome and send off, and entertain relatives and friends.

Therefore, the same situation will occur among Ming officials regardless of their rank.

After the first year's salary was paid out, before the second year's salary was paid out, the family had no food left over, so they had to shamelessly borrow money from here and there to make ends meet.

That's why there is a saying that officials in Ming Dynasty are not as good as dogs.

Judging from the current situation, with Zhu Yuanzhang here, this situation can barely be maintained.

But that was because Zhu Yuanzhang's methods were tough enough, and the officials did not dare to have any unwanted thoughts.

However, everything has two sides. If an object is pressed down hard, when the pressure disappears, it will bounce higher!

Zhu Yuanzhang's crackdown on official corruption was the most ferocious in history!

And one day, when Zhu Yuanzhang is gone and the emperor sitting on the Dragon Throne of the Ming Dynasty no longer has such strong methods, the officials will become even crazier in corruption and bribery whenever they have the opportunity after enduring the long-term pressure and blows!

The official corruption in the late Ming Dynasty was indeed the most serious and heinous in history!
"History of Ming Dynasty: Biography of Huang Shaojie" records:

Two pieces of Tiren's private residence were stolen, and the gold and jade were lost to no avail, so he hid them and dared not say anything.

This means that the house of Wen Tiren, the first assistant, was stolen twice and countless money, gold and jade were lost. However, Wen Tiren kept a low profile and did not make any publicity to the outside world. He was willing to suffer the loss of being dumb.

During the Chongzhen period, Ding Kuichu, the Minister of Household Affairs, fled in a hurry with the looted property when the Qing army attacked. He later surrendered and was killed by the Qing army. The Qing army counted his property and found that there were 80 gold alone!
What concept is this!
When Huang Taiji was negotiating peace with Chongzhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he proposed a compensation list, in which the gold requirement was 1 per year. The gold embezzled by Ding Kuichu could meet Huang Taiji's needs for 80 years!

This can only make people sigh that the household department in charge of the money bag is really fat!

Chongzhen's father-in-law, Zhou Kui, caught Li Zicheng after he came to Beijing and found 53 taels of silver from his home!

In addition, during the Wanli period, Shandong tax supervisor Ma Tang embezzled a total of 7 million taels of silver in 130 years!

……

There were simply countless such examples in the late Ming Dynasty.

It is difficult to say that the corruption in the officialdom in the late Ming Dynasty was all caused by Zhu Yuanzhang's high-pressure policy, but it must be related.

Cao Wei analyzed and stated the stakes one by one with Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Policies are dead, but people are alive. Your Majesty, have you ever thought about what will happen if the emperor of Ming Dynasty cannot suppress those ministers in the future?"

Just this sentence made Zhu Yuanzhang feel cold in his heart!He understands human nature so well!

The less a person can eat good food, the more he wants to eat good food...

After some weighing, Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to Cao Wei's request.

Later, Cao Weicai left Yingtian with the edict...

At this time, Cao Wei made this request again in the court, just to discuss the account books that had been negotiated with Zhu Yuanzhang.

All the ministers did not dare to express their anger and looked eagerly at Zhu Yuanzhang sitting on the dragon throne.

Until they saw Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, everyone felt as if they were dreaming.

I'm a little dizzy, as if I'm in a dream, and my feet are a little unsteady...

But then when they reacted, their hearts were filled with infinite ecstasy!

It’s really done!
Turning to look at Cao Wei again, many people's eyes were wet, and some were even crying.

Mr. Cao, he... is such a good man!

Do not!
He is a great man!

(End of this chapter)