My Ming Dynasty, I have the final say

Chapter 204 Can’t get iron?

"Hey, good on you Yuan Shizhen."

Looking at Yuan Shizhen leaving, Zhou Yingqiu couldn't help but point.

This guy's scapegoating method is quite successful.

Could it be that the official department of the Ming Dynasty could handle the problem of official affairs well?

However, Zhou Yingqiu had no intention of starting a dispute with Yuan Shizhen.

This Yuan Shizhen is a practical minister, and the emperor still relies on him to do things.

A wise minister like Zhou Goutou can distinguish who can be provoked and who cannot be provoked.

When there is no one in the court who can replace Yuan Shizhen, he will not have nothing to do to provoke Yuan Shizhen.

And now that he holds the seal of the imperial court, he has offended many people.

But while Yuan Shizhen was in charge of Ming Dynasty's finances, he also assisted in the New Deal, offending even more people.

Maybe in the future, Yuan Shizhen will ask to come to his door.

Looking at Yuan Shizhen leaving, Zhou Yingqiu couldn't help but feel a trace of doubt in her heart.

"What do you think about buying weapons for the rural police?"

Similarly, Huang Kezhan, who had just returned to the Ministry of War Yamen from Xiyuan, couldn't help but murmur after hearing Yuan Shizhen's intention.

He had no objection to this increasing the number of imperial officials.

But isn't it a bit too much to get weapons for rural officials?

The people down here have weapons in their hands, if anyone else has evil intentions. . .

In the blink of an eye, it could lead to a civil commotion.

"This is your Majesty's wish."

Looking at Huang Kezhan who was full of doubts, Yuan Shizhen cupped his hands in the direction of Xiyuan.

"If the imperial court doesn't provide weapons to the newly-established rural police, how can you expect them to collect taxes from those rural tyrants?"

"That's the truth, but this is a weapon. If you don't keep it well and it falls into the wrong hands, something might happen."

Huang Kezhan said with some worry as he tapped his hand on the table.

"Do you still remember His Majesty's heroic words about plowing the world again?"

Hearing this, Yuan Shizhen waved his hands and said.

"The new policy is now only implemented in Shuntian Mansion. If anything unexpected happens, the new army in your Majesty's hands will unleash the wrath of thunder."

"Moreover, the three rural officials established by His Majesty are based on the Baojia system of the former Song Dynasty to protect Sangzi."

With that said, Yuan Shizhen took out a brochure and handed it to Huang Kezhan.

This is a trial regulation based on what he saw when he was reforming the salt policy in Lianghuai and his own personal experience, combined with the official positions of the three townships set by the emperor.

"I heard that in the past, Wang Yangming set up a security guard in the countryside during the rebellion of King Ping Ning and established a ten-family card game. Ten families were designated as one card, and a member of the family would hold the card every day to investigate whether there was any suspicious behavior among the ten families. People, please report to Li Zheng at any time."

"Nowadays, in order to prevent pirates from being pirated, the southeastern regions also have the law of rural covenants to protect themselves."

"These are all strategies that have been proven to be feasible after practice. Now they are only implemented privately by the private sector and assigned by the government."

"As long as we ensure the smooth flow of court laws, we can prevent the inhumane things entrusted to us from happening."

"Then who will be in charge of these rural capitals?"

Hearing this, Huang Kezhan raised another question.

The purpose is also very clear, to fight for power.

Now the emperor only said that the rural police are responsible for the county inspection bureau and prefecture inspection department.

But it did not indicate who would manage it further up.

With such a large military force, no one in the central court directly manages the yamen. Huang Kezhan, the Minister of War, expressed his uneasiness.

He didn't have the guts to interfere with the emperor's training of new soldiers.

But he still has to fight for the management rights of this militia-type organization.

After all, this matter of bowing one's head in the countryside is still civil.

"This matter is not urgent for the time being. Your Majesty's purpose of setting up rural police is to clamp down on wealthy private households and solve tax evasion."

Immediately understanding what Huang Kezhan meant, Yuan Shizhen looked around and then whispered.

"Most of the people in the Inspection Department of Shuntian Mansion now come from the Military and Horse Department of the first five cities. Your Majesty is very concerned about the New Deal and wants to see the results. If you and I raise this matter at this time and argue for power, I may offend Your Majesty. Angry."

"Moreover, when the new policy is rolled out in the coming days, there will definitely be a lot of shortages. When the time comes, where to find so many available people to serve as rural police officers will become a problem."

"When that time comes, it will be the right way to talk about it."

"It makes sense."

Hearing this, Huang Kezhan stroked his beard and nodded.

The meaning of Yuan Shizhen's words is that the struggle for power also depends on the time.

Directly fighting for power at this time would expose the purpose too obviously.

We should wait until something goes wrong during the implementation of the New Deal before we start fighting for power. Then we can directly target the people from the Five Cities Military and Horse Division.

If those people from the Five Cities Military and Horse Division had achieved results, it wouldn't be a big problem.

Such a large Ming Dynasty needed countless rural officials. How could a small five-city military division in the capital have so many people?

Even if you include the Five Cities Military and Horse Division in Nanjing, it will not be enough.

"What about this weapon?"

Seeing that Huang Kezhan understood what he meant, Yuan Shizhen spoke again.

"There are still difficulties in this matter."

Hearing this, Huang Kezhan scratched his head and refused again.

"Ok?"

Looking at Yuan Shizhen's incomprehensible eyes, Huang Kezhan explained.

"Years ago, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War went through the accounts. They also cleaned up old and dead accounts. They found that although many items were included in the accounts, the warehouses had long been empty for rats."

He reached out and rummaged through the table a few times, pulled out an account book, and handed it to Yuan Shizhen. Huang Kezhan explained helplessly.

"And even if there is one in the Ministry of War's warehouse, it will be given priority to the Liaodong armies and His Majesty's new guards."

"But, His Majesty did not let the palace acquire it..."

After saying that, Yuan Shizhen paused and changed his words.

"The coal and iron mines in Xishan and Shijingshan were snapped up. Logically speaking, the available quantity of coal and iron should be more than in previous years."

"The number of iron courses has not changed, but if you want more, you still have to spend money to buy them from Shijing Factory."

Hearing this, Huang Kezhan said helplessly.

What is a palace-owned economy?

That is public and private.

The emperor has two money bags, one is called national money and the other is called internal money.

National funds belong to the court, and internal funds belong to the emperor personally.

The mines in Shijingshan are now owned by the emperor.

If the imperial court wanted to use it, it would have to spend money to buy it from Shijing Factory.

"The iron class has not changed? After the inner court took over, the output of Shijing Factory did not increase?"

Hearing this, Yuan Shizhen frowned.

He still knows that national funds and internal funds are divided into public and private matters.

From a practical point of view, if the court was not really unable to survive, Yuan Shizhen would not want the court to reach out to the emperor's internal funds.

Because if the court is short of money, it can easily ask for the emperor's internal funds.

Correspondingly, if the emperor was short of money, he could freely use the imperial government's funds.

Although the Ming Dynasty required financial support from the emperor's internal funds for many years, it was because the national taxes were not enough to cover government expenditures. Only after the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs submitted a letter and followed formal procedures did the emperor take out the money from the internal funds with difficulty.

Moreover, think about what happened last time the current man was asked to contribute money to support national funds?

The Ministry of Household Affairs was directly separated from a branch department, allowing the inner court to intervene in the audit work of national fiscal expenditures.

"Compared to the past few years, there are more iron classes, but now there are more places where iron is needed."

Hearing this, Huang Kezhan spread his hands helplessly. "The armies in Liaodong and the new army in the capital all need weapons, and Sun Chengzong, Zuo Guangdou and others also need agricultural tools for their farming."

"Iron material is a problem, and production time is also a problem. The current production requirements at Shijing Factory have been scheduled until June."

As he spoke, Huang Kezhan pointed to the list of supplies in the account book.

"Furthermore, as soon as the iron ore in Shijingshan comes out of the mine, it goes into the iron furnace of Shijing Factory, and then it is made into various instruments. There is very little excess iron material flowing into the market in the capital."

"this..."

Hearing this, Yuan Shizhen couldn't help but scratch his hair.

This is really a hair-raising problem.

In the past, when the imperial court needed iron, it would spend money on finding compradors on the market who were responsible for buying it.

These compradors traveled to various places to purchase iron materials for the imperial court and then transported them to the capital.

Needless to say, there must be interest groups inside.

I thought that if the emperor took control of the Shijingshan mine, he would not be short of iron.

Who would have thought that this is no different from before.

"Moreover, the Ministry of War is no longer in charge of weapons casting. It only plays a supervisory role."

Seeing that Yuan Shizhen understood the problem, Huang Kezhan poured cold water on him again.

"After the establishment of Qianfan Shijing and Xishan factories, almost all the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of War, and the inner court were transferred by them. Now, even if our Ministry of War wants to allocate soldiers to each army, we have to place orders with Longji Factory and hand over the work. The money is then produced by them.

This is also the emperor's new rule.

The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry are no longer responsible for specific production affairs and only play a supervisory role.

"If they don't have ready-made iron materials, they have to wait, or they can prepare their own iron materials and let them make it."

"Even if you give the money to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of War will still go to Shijing Factory to produce it."

Looking at Yuan Shizhen scratching his head, Huang Kezhan gave an idea.

"How about this? I'll write you a note. You take the money and the note and go to see Manager Zhao from Longji Company in Shijing Factory to see if he can get you iron materials and arrange production."

"That's it."

Hearing this, Yuan Shizhen nodded heavily.

If Zhao Shuang couldn't get iron materials, then he would have to go to the market to buy high-priced iron materials with his money.

After the two of them exchanged a few words and received the note from the Ministry of War approving the production, Yuan Shizhen led the people towards Shi Jingshan.

It took nearly half a day on the road to reach Shijingshan.

Originally, this matter did not require Yuan Shizhen to go there personally.

He heard that the emperor would come to Shijing Factory or Xishan Factory once a month, but he never came once.

He was very curious about the new production system, so Yuan Shizhen decided to try it himself.

When Yuan Shizhen came to Shijingshan, his entourage had already gone to notify him and someone was responsible for receiving him.

This person is Guo Zhen, the eunuch and supervisor of the Security Department of Shijing Factory.

"Manager Zhao is meeting guests and couldn't come. I hope Minister Yuan won't take it personally."

The first time he saw Yuan Shizhen, Guo Zhen handed over his hand and apologized to Yuan Shizhen.

"It doesn't matter."

Although Yuan Shizhen was dissatisfied with Zhao Shuang, a businessman who was on the emperor's lap, he was not slapping him with his hand.

But as a qualified official, Yuan Shizhen did not show this dissatisfaction on his face.

After meeting up with the people brought by Guo Zhen, the group headed towards Shijingchang.

Looking at the scenery along the way, surprise gradually appeared on Yuan Shizhen's face.

Look at the low wall being built, and look at the Yongding River over there.

Is this still the small town Dian used to be?

This has already begun to develop into a new county town, right?

"Who are these people?"

Riding on his horse, Yuan Shizhen looked at a group of people pushing wheelbarrows by the roadside, and couldn't help but turn around and ask Guo Zhen, who was wearing a blue hat.

"Sir, these people are beggars captured by Jin Yiwei."

Hearing this, Guo Zhen didn't show any airs and immediately explained.

"These people used to travel in groups in the capital, begging everywhere. The previous time, because some beggars spread rumors privately, the emperor was furious, so the emperor asked the Jin Yiwei to arrest Shi Jingshan and Xishan on the street to do coolies. "

"Oh."

Hearing this, Yuan Shizhen nodded.

He knew this, and the fact that the New Deal in Beijing could be implemented so quickly was also due to this matter.

"Sir, don't look at it. These people used to be beggars, but they were hardworking at work."

Seeing Yuan Shizhen nodding, Guo Zhen spoke again.

He was also born into a poor man and could empathize with the experiences of these beggars.

I know their despair of being reduced to beggars, and I understand their gratitude for being able to earn money again.

"Now, those who work in the palace are paid according to their work. These people work very hard. They can dig wells to collect water, build work sheds, and lay roads. They can do it all."

Listening to Guo Zhen talking about Shijingchang's rules, Yuan Shizhen raised his eyebrows.

"These people can be regarded as living a decent life."

The emperor's labor reform law is a good idea.

I heard that the officials who went to stir up trouble with the emperor a few days ago were sent to Nanhaizi to move bricks.

I don’t know if they can do this through labor reform.

After Zhu Ma watched these people carrying supplies for a while, Yuan Shizhen did not stop and rode towards the center.

Just after entering the office compound of Shijing Factory, Yuan Shizhen saw Zhao Shuang and Xu Guangqi, Minister of Industry, walking out of the compound.

With a look of surprise on his face, Yuan Shizhen understood why Zhao Shuang didn't come to greet him personally.

This Xu Shangshu can be said to be the financial backer for Zhao Shuang to climb into the emperor's lap. Of course, he must be given priority to receive him.

Moreover, he is still a serious minister, unlike me, who is still just the official seal of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and has always lacked an opportunity to make contributions.

"Xu Shangshu."

Immediately, Yuan Shizhen saluted Xu Guangqi.

"Shilang Yuan."

Seeing Yuan Shizhen, Xu Guangqi also returned the favor.

After the group of people had greeted each other, they entered the lobby and sat down, while servants served them refreshments.

After taking a symbolic sip from the tea cup, Zhao Shuang got straight to the point.

"Shilang Yuan is here for the equipment?"

"That's true."

Seeing Zhao Shuang's direct question, Yuan Shizhen did not laugh and directly stated the purpose of his trip.

"With the new policy of Shuntian Prefecture, the rural police need a batch of weapons, and the inventory of the Ministry of War is not enough, so I have no choice but to come to see Manager Zhao."

"Weapons."

Zhao Shuang frowned when he heard Yuan Shizhen mention the production purpose.

Shouldn't the Ministry of War send someone to do this?

"Is there any official document from the Ministry of War?"

"Here's the text."

Hearing this, Yuan Shizhen quickly took the Ministry of War's writing from the entourage behind him and handed it to Zhao Shuang.

After receiving the text from Yuan Shizhen, Zhao Shuang looked through it and checked the seals on it, and then said to Yuan Shizhen.

"With such a quantity, just use the inventory. Lord Yuan can rest assured that it will be arranged for Lord Yuan within three days."

(End of this chapter)