Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Knowing that the emperor had appointed him to the throne in order to solve the financial difficulties, Han Yu issued the first order and then asked Bi Ziyan:
"Have the summer taxes in North and South Zhili been paid off now?"

Bi Ziyan immediately replied:
"The summer taxes in Northern Zhili have been paid, but those in Southern Zhili have not been reported yet."

"The Ministry of Revenue has urged the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue Zhili Office to send the taxes as soon as possible."

After the current emperor ascended the throne, the biggest change to the North and South Zhili was the establishment of the Zhili Office in the Six Ministries, with the Nanjing and Beijing courts directly managing the affairs of the two places.

So the first thing Han Yu asked about was the taxes in North and South Zhili.

Upon hearing that the taxes in Northern Zhili had been paid, he immediately said to Bi Ziyan:
"Since the tax from Northern Zhili has been paid in full, let's transfer the tax that should go to the inner treasury."

"The same is true for Nanzhili and other provinces. If one province is surrendered, the balance will be settled."

Bi Ziyan hesitated for a moment and asked again:

"According to the tax-sharing system established by Your Majesty, local taxes are shared between the imperial court and the localities."

"Should the money allocated to the inner treasury also be divided according to the tax-sharing system and the localities?"

"And your majesty has allowed the guards to pay taxes in kind. How should these goods be allocated and stored in which warehouse?"

Han Yu didn't know the details of these things, but he knew that what he needed most was to coordinate well, so he responded:
"I will ask Eunuch Gao of the Imperial Household Department and Eunuch Wang of the Imperial Household Department to discuss these matters with the Ministry of Revenue. We must come up with a set of rules."

"The Ministry of Revenue should also list other related issues to set an example for future tax divisions."

"Do you have any other questions?"

Bi Ziyan said hurriedly:

"Also, after the tax-sharing system was implemented, all property had to be transported to the capital, and the loss was too great."

"The Ministry of Revenue plans to expand granaries in various places to store various supplies."

"We will also open banks in various places and set up silver vaults to keep money."

"In this way, the money that should be paid by various places can be collected by the Ministry of Revenue Bank."

“Taxes in kind are transported to the nearest warehouse.”

Han Yu listened and nodded, saying:
"This is a great idea. Did you encounter any difficulties?"

Bi Ziyan complained to him:

“The problem is expanding the warehouse, and we need help from the Ministry of Industry.”

"The warehouse location also requires a road from Taipusi."

"If there are large quantities of supplies that need to be transported, the Ministry of War will need help."

“The Ministry of Revenue cannot solve these problems independently.”

Han Yu looked at the ministers attending the meeting, and then at Bi Ziyan, who had a sad face, and felt even more satisfied.

Bi Ziyan was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and supervised the Sinong Temple and the Taifu Temple. People said that he was equivalent to the Three Commissioners of the Former Song Dynasty and could be called the Prime Minister.

However, there are many things that are difficult to handle for this Prime Minister, and he needs to coordinate.

He said to Shang Zhouzuo, the Minister of Works, and Chen Qiyu, the Minister of Imperial Household:

"Can the Ministry of Works and the Imperial Household Department solve the problem raised by Minister Bi?"

The two looked at Han Yu and said they would try their best to solve the problem.

Han Yu was still not satisfied and ordered them to complete the task within the year so as not to delay the Ministry of Revenue's tax collection plan.

Chen Qiyu complained about this:

"Most of the current highway construction is concentrated in Shuntian Prefecture."

“The only Yancang Highway outside the province is used by immigrants.”

“The road is not yet completed and needs to continue to be built.”

"After it is completed, there will be another Longhai Highway to be built."

"What Minister Bi said about building roads for each warehouse is not something that can be accomplished in a short time."

"The only way is to build warehouses close to the highway."

Immigration was also a major concern of the emperor, who even invested a huge amount of money in it, second only to military spending.

When Han Yu heard this, he felt that the situation was difficult and asked Chen Qiyu:

"There are still four Xingtaipusi in the area. Can't they build a highway?"

Chen Qiyu hesitated for a moment and responded:
"It can be built. Taipusi can plan the route and teach them how to build a road."

"But highway construction also costs money, and the local government needs to allocate money to Xingtaipu Temple."

It all comes down to financial issues, and Han Yu became more aware of the current difficulties facing the Ming Dynasty.

If the imperial court had money, it could directly allocate funds to the Taipusi to build roads. If the local government had money, it could also invite the Taipusi to build roads.

But the current situation is that the imperial court's finances are tight and the local governments don't have much money either.

Only by implementing the tax-sharing system can this difficulty be slightly resolved.

Therefore, Han Yu said to Chen Qiyu:
"Then issue an order to allow localities to raise funds on their own and invite the Xingtaipu Temple to build the highway."

“These roads are included in the planning of Taipusi and will be connected in the future.”

Chen Qiuyu nodded hurriedly, and told Bi Ziyan that he would try his best to ensure the smooth flow of post roads, and that the Ministry of Revenue could transfer goods through the post roads.

After this question, Han Yu said to everyone:

"There are rumors outside that the court is planning to open provincial examinations for the law and mathematics subjects."

"Some people have also proposed to link the number of places for the provincial examinations in these two subjects to tax payment."

"I don't know what the Ministry of Rites is planning, but I think there is great potential for this."

"I think the quota for the law and mathematics subjects should be based on 60% of the current provincial examination quota. Anyone who follows the tax sharing system formulated by the court and pays 60% of the full amount of taxes to the court will be given 60% of the provincial examination quota for each subject."

"If it's not enough, then reduce the number of places, based on the proportion of taxes paid."

"The number of candidates for the provincial examination next year will be calculated based on the tax payment in the previous three years."

When this statement was made, all the ministers were surprised.

Because they all knew that this matter was vigorously promoted by Zhang Pu and others in the newspapers.

The Ministry of Rites is now discussing whether to give college students places in the Shuntian County Examination, and this was also the first issue discussed in the newspapers.

They really didn't expect that Han Yu would attach so much importance to the issues in the newspaper and discuss them formally like the Ministry of Rites did.

But thinking about the rumors outside and the close relationship between Zhang Pu and the emperor, they felt a little confused and thought that this might be the emperor's intention.

This was indeed Zhu Youjian's idea, because he had previously mentioned to Zhang Pu that the number of juren candidates should be linked to population, taxation, and tax payment.

The reason why the newspapers were so hyped about the provincial examinations was also closely related to his manipulation. He needed to use the fluctuation of the number of imperial examinations to force the localities to actively pay taxes.

Bi Ziyan thought about this matter and felt that this trick might be very effective.

Because the number of places for the provincial examination is a matter that concerns the interests of all local people.

If a place reduced the number of places for the provincial examination due to tax payment, the local officials and gentry would probably be severely scolded by the scholars.

He was overwhelmed by financial problems and immediately expressed his opinion:

"I think this method is feasible, and the Ministry of Revenue supports this proposal!"

The Sinong Temple, Taifu Temple and other government offices also expressed their support. These government offices with financial power generally supported this proposal.

Unlike the Ministry of Rites, which needs to consider this and that when increasing the number of places for the provincial examination.

Looking at the attitudes of the crowd, Han Yu became more confident that this matter could be passed in the court.

He decided to urge Cheng Jiming to push for an increase in the number of places for the provincial examination as soon as possible.

At this time Bi Ziyan asked again:

"If we pay more taxes to the court, can we increase the number of places accordingly?"

"For example, the various prefectures in the north and south of Zhili were classified as secondary finances by the imperial court, and they paid 70% of their taxes directly to the imperial court, bypassing the provincial level."

"If the two places pay the full amount, can the quota for Ming Law and Ming Calculation in North and South Zhili be calculated at 70%?"

Han Yu thought for a moment, but before he could answer, Xu Guangqi said:

"There are also places that offer tax exemptions and reductions due to disasters. How should the quotas be calculated?"

"It's easier for a province like Shaanxi to be exempted from taxes because of a disaster, but in some provinces, only one or two prefectures were affected, which affected the tax payment of the entire province. How should the quota be calculated?"

This is also a problem, Han Yu said:

"The areas affected by the disaster can be excluded and the 60% quota can be directly calculated."

"Regions that pay more taxes should increase the number of places, and those who pay more should not be left at a disadvantage."

"I will discuss this with the Ministry of Rites and try to come up with a perfect solution."

I plan to have a good discussion with Cheng Jiming and work out a perfect solution.

He even thought of asking local governments to donate money for the places in the provincial examinations to make up for the shortfall in taxes.

Han Yu even believed that college students could be asked to donate money to participate in the provincial examinations and occupy the quota for juren.

It can be said that under the constant pressure from the emperor, Han Yu quickly shifted his focus to finance, and other considerations were put aside. (End of this chapter)