unclear

Chapter 71 Unbearable
After sending Yuan Keli away, Hong Tao returned to the study and sat down, holding hot tea in a daze.It will take at least a year or two before you can see the results of this step. If it is entrusted to someone else, it will not only waste money but also delay time.

"What do you think of this person?" Hong Tao really doesn't know whether he is sure or not. There is no harm in listening to more opinions at this time, such as Wang An.

"Long live my lord, I think Governor Yuan is unreliable..." Wang An did not refuse, and told him exactly what he was thinking.

In the past, he would never dare to talk too much about government affairs, but now and then, after the new emperor ascended the throne, many rules have also changed. When asked, he must answer, and he must have something to say, otherwise it will be the crime of deceiving the emperor, and he will end up in trouble. The palm print of the Royal Horse Supervisor is the same as that of Bai Zhong.

"Why?" Hong Tao continued to ask without even raising his eyelids.

"This man was arrogant and arrogant when he was a seventh-grade official. He contradicted the late emperor many times and was demoted to serve as a civilian. Although Lord Long Live treated him with courtesy and entrusted him with important responsibilities, it may be difficult to win his heart."

As a eunuch of the Wanli Dynasty, Wang An still heard about what Yuan Keli did back then, and his impression was not very good.The main reason is that this person is disloyal to the emperor and must follow the rules in everything. It is too rebellious!

"Well, that makes sense... Do you know Mr. Ma from the Tianjin Tax Supervisor?" Is Yuan Keli worthy of belief?Hong Tao is no different from the emperors of various dynasties in this regard. He wants to trust but dare not fully trust him. He does not want to trust but has to trust. It is very contradictory.

And the method he adopted was nothing new. He found someone who was easier to control as an informant, and kept an eye on the officials who were doing the specific work, and further judged whether he should continue to believe it based on what he did.Generally speaking, this candidate is most likely to be a eunuch.

Of course, there were many examples of eunuchs colluding with foreign ministers to trick the emperor.But there was no way. The emperor was alone most of the time, so he could only use General Ziliba for the time being.After all, it is easier to stare at eunuchs than officials, and there are not so many constraints to deal with.

"I'm not familiar with him..." When the emperor asked about this name, Wang An's eyes visibly flashed.

"Wang An, it is a serious crime to deceive the emperor!" Although his expression was just a flash of lightning, Hong Tao could clearly see his expression. His face suddenly sank and he spoke the most intimidating words in the calmest tone.

"Long live the Lord, forgive me. Ma Tang is a close official of the late emperor. I dare not speak nonsense." What it means to accompany a king is like accompanying a tiger. This is the most appropriate demonstration at this time.Facing the emperor's inquiry, Wang An was completely in a dilemma.

To be honest, if the emperor has no intention of dealing with Ma Tang, then he will be a villain who slanders the late emperor's cronies behind his back. He can easily offend others and be looked down upon by the emperor.

If you don't tell the truth, that's what you'll end up with now.As a eunuch, don't say you deliberately lie, knowing it or not telling it is also considered cheating.If you are charged with this crime, you will be cut into pieces in a matter of minutes, leaving no trace of your body.

"Oh... he belongs to the imperial concubine, right?" Of course he must be a eunuch trusted by Emperor Wanli to sit in the position of Tianjin tax supervisor. Wang An's answer was like saying nothing, but Hong Tao heard another thing from it. layer meaning.

"Long live the Lord Shengming..." Wang An tried not to laugh out loud, and hurriedly presented the little flatterer, while praising him from the bottom of his heart.It was a blessing to be able to reconcile misfortunes with this thoughtful emperor. If this emperor couldn't hear the voice-over, then the offending words would have to come from his own mouth.

"I understand, now I want to hear this person's official comments!"

Since he belonged to Concubine Zheng, Hong Tao definitely wouldn't dare to use it, but he didn't intend to let it go.It is said that once the emperor and his courtiers were together, he had been on the throne for so long, except for the imperial eunuch, who had not made any major changes in the personnel arrangements of the previous dynasty.It's not that I don't want to, but I just can't make a move. How can I let it go easily now that I've caught up with it. "No one can be retained, no one who damages the reputation of the royal family can be retained! Go find Chen Ju and ask Dongchang to bring him back secretly. I want to personally interrogate him!" After only listening to Wang An's words for a few minutes, Hong Tao gave the order with a dark face. .

Even if Wang An hadn't snitched, Hong Tao could probably guess what Ma Tang's crime would be, and it was nothing more than being greedy for ink.If corruption is also a crime, then [-]% of the officials in the entire Ming Dynasty should be killed.

Since all the civil servants who have learned a lot are like this, it is simply impossible to expect a powerful eunuch to survive the filth.But as I listened, I realized that I had really underestimated the abilities of some people.

Ma Tang's sins go far beyond being greedy for ink, and it is not an exaggeration to describe him as having many evil deeds.At this time, it no longer matters who he belongs to. Even if he is a close associate of the Empress Dowager of the East Palace, he must be unselfish. Otherwise, before he can gather enough strength, the country will be dug into a hollow frame and fall down at the first touch.

So what bad thing did Ma Tang do to make Hong Tao, who was ready to be a coward, so angry?Four words, lawless!Adding four more words will make people and gods angry!

There were many wars during the reign of Emperor Wanli, the most famous of which were the three major campaigns.Regardless of the outcome, these wars greatly consumed the national treasury and internal funds. In order to make up for the emptiness, the emperor came up with a way to send eunuchs to various places to collect taxes, such as mine supervisors and tax envoys.

Ma Tang is the tax supervisor of Tianjin and also serves as the tax envoy of the Linqing section of the Grand Canal. He has great power and can handle any tax-related issues on his own without consulting local officials.

The Grand Canal of the Ming Dynasty was a bit like the highways of later generations. Whoever used it paid the toll. There were more than ten toll stations called Chaoguan along the way.If you want to use the Grand Canal to transport goods, you have to pay customs duties one by one along the way.

Shandong Linqing is the first of the eight major bank checkpoints, not because of its location, but because it ranks first in annual tax revenue.At first, Chaoguan only accepted treasure notes as tolls. Later, Linqing Chaoguan invented the precedent of using goods to deduct money. If the money was not enough, goods could be used to offset it. It was really a good hand in generating income.

After Ma Tang concurrently served as the Linqing Banknote Customs Envoy, he felt that collecting money in this way was still too slow, so he organized a group of local gangsters as his subordinates, strictly interrogated passing merchants, and invented a lot of reasons for collecting taxes.Anyone who refused to hand over was openly robbed, and a private court was set up, causing widespread complaints.

It is said that doing so will not only seriously affect the normal operations of merchants, but also offend local officials.Many merchants are backed by officials. How can Ma Tang easily let go after stealing their money?

There were indeed officials who impeached the court, but the number was small. There was only one reason. Ma Tang's behavior not only did not affect the family businesses of most officials, but also helped reduce competitors.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, many merchants engaged in long-distance trafficking had official backgrounds.They also used the Grand Canal to transport goods, but not by civilian ships, but by tankers.

Cao ships are under the jurisdiction of the central government and do not need to pay taxes. Naturally, there is no need to pay taxes on the goods carried on board.Ma Tang was not crazy enough to detain the canal boat, so he had little influence on the officials.

Who would offend someone for no good reason, or someone close to the emperor?Even if the protection is not enough, local officials can still get a piece of the pie. Just turn a blind eye and take care of me and everyone.

(End of this chapter)