Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 4

In the monastery, Jiajing was sitting on the futon with his eyes closed, his hands still resting on his knees and pinching his fingers. After a long while, his hands finally lifted slowly and reached for the bronze chime, holding He stopped the chime and pestle in the copper chime, hesitated for a while, and finally picked up the chime and pestle to knock on the copper chime.

The clear and crisp copper chime sounded loudly from the main hall!

"This 300 million bill is ready to be signed by the Department of Accounts." Lu Fang raised her voice and announced loudly.

First was Yan Shifan, who let out a long breath, and then cast a sideways glance at Gao Gong.

Everyone knew that Gao Gong had lost this round.

Gao Gong was obviously upset, holding the ticket and still froze there.

"Let's sign." Xu Jie took the initiative to take the ticket from Gao Gong, signed his name respectfully, and handed it to Gao Gong. When Gao Gong received the ticket, Xu Jie's The hand stopped intentionally.

Gao Gong knew that this was a reminder to himself, so he tried his best to balance his mentality, but his hands still trembled a little when signing, so that the last point of the word "Gong" was still a bit too thick and black.

Lu Fang raised her voice and announced loudly: "Critical red!"

The eunuch holding the pen who stood at the end of the big case of the chief inspector immediately went to the Gao Gong case, walked back with the ticket, and handed it to Lu Fang with both hands.

Lu Fang picked up the vermilion pen on the case and neatly approved the two vermilion characters "approved" on the draft.

"Are there any other tickets that have not been signed by your household department?" When Lu Fang approved the red and asked this sentence, there was already a hint of coldness in his voice.

"One sum is from Yingtian Zhejiang's public funds for repairing the river." Gao Gong did not hide his injustice at all, "The Baimao River and Wusong River Ministry of Xiuyingtian reported at the beginning of the year that it was 200 million taels, but this time the bill is 350 million taels The Xin'anjiang Ministry of Industry in Zhejiang Province reported 100 million taels at the beginning of the year, but this time the bill is 200 million taels. The overspend and deficit amounted to 250 million taels."

Yan Shifan: "Jiangsu and Zhejiang are important places for the imperial court to pay taxes. The extra public funds for river repairs can be checked in the detailed accounts of the river yamen, and the river supervision is all middle-ranking officials sent by the palace. If you don't sign, it's not just for our Ministry of Industry. !"

"What else has not been signed?" Lu Fang asked Gao Gong no longer.

Gao Gong: "There is also the payment for the timber used in the construction of the palace. The Ministry of Industry's budget at the beginning of the year was 300 million taels, but this time the bill is as high as 700 million taels. A deficit of 400 million taels!"

"I knew that all your calculations were done to get the emperor!" Yan Shifan had already revealed the invisible knife in his hand when he said this.

Sure enough, although Jiajing was sitting on the futon in the jingshe, his eyes were still closed, but his hand holding the chime was tightened.

In the main hall, Gao Gong knew he had to stand up and fight back: "I said that the Ministry of Industry was short of 400 million taels, and I didn't say that it shouldn't build palaces for the palace. Mr. Xiaoge, if you want to kill someone, just do it directly. Use Don't want to add a crime like this!"

"Gao Suqing!" This time it was Xu Jie who interrupted Gao Gong sternly, "This is a public discussion, and no one has punished you, let alone the emperor. If the Ministry of Households raises a question, it is fine if the Ministry of Industry can make it clear. , What is the crime? Mr. Xiaoge, if the bills settled as usual are inconsistent with the budget, the Ministry of Accounting can bring it up, so there is no need to get angry."

Xu Jie was powerful in these areas, with a few words, he gently dispelled Yan Shifan's murderous aura, and at the same time protected Gao Gong without leaving a trace.And these few words really cannot be refuted, Yan Shifan couldn't think of an appropriate response, so he could only hold back his anger and look at Yan Song.

Yan Song kept his eyes slightly closed all the time, still expressionless at this moment.Yan Shifan had no choice but to look at Lu Fang again.

Lu Fang didn't turn to him overtly, but followed Xu Jie's words and said, "Mr. Xu Ge is right. Master Yan, please tell me about the expenditure."

Yan Shifan held back his anger and could only answer: "What can we say about things we all know? The expenditure at the beginning of the year was about transporting timber in the Yunnan-Guizhou Mountains. After a survey, the mountains were high and the forests were dense. There was no road, and the large materials could not be transported. Timbers were brought in from the South Seas. The one-year construction period suddenly increased to such a big difficulty. The Ministry of Works rushed to complete it day and night, and several large ships capsized. We still rushed to repair several palace halls before the end of the year. For the emperor , we can suffer any kind of suffering, why do you keep holding on to the extra money!"

"If this is the case, it seems that the household department should sign these expenses." Lu Fang set the tone for Yan Shifan.

All eyes turned to Xu Jie and Gao Gong again.Xu Jie was silent.Gao Gong was also silent.

Emperor Jiajing in the jingshe was no longer on the futon, but was pacing back and forth there with his sleeves fluttering.He likes the quarrel outside the hall, and also likes the silence outside the hall, where the cathode and the yang move, after the silence, the thunder that should be struck will come out, and the rain that should rain will also fall.

"Elder Xu Ge and Master Gao are hard to talk about, let me say a few words." The one who broke the silence was Zhang Juzheng who stood at the bottom.

Lu Fang immediately said: "Yes."

"I'm only talking about the Ministry of War." Zhang Juzheng's voice was clear and concise. "Last year, most of the military expenditure was spent on the defense of the north. Due to the increase in military strength and expenditure, I have blocked several invasions. According to the military newspaper of the Xuanfu , the Alda Ministry will have a bigger invasion this year, and the number of troops will increase. The Great Wall connecting many places in the Northwest and Northeast will also have to be rebuilt this year. The expenditure on this item alone will increase by more than 200 million compared with last year. There is also the southeast Coastal defense, such as Fujian and Zhejiang, relied on Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou's two troops of less than 200 to resist the Japanese pirates' riots on land last year, but our merchant ships, our silk, tea, and porcelain were unable to go to sea. The loss of this item is at least 45 million taels a year. To ensure the smooth flow of cargo ships in the southeast sea, it is imperative to recruit soldiers from Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong this year. This item will increase the expenditure by more than [-] million taels compared with last year. If it is like last year, In one year, all the silver in the Ministry of Household’s inventory was used up, and this year the imperial court had to impose additional taxes on the people. Before I came here, I heard that some provinces had already collected taxes for [-] years in Jiajing! If things continue like this, how will the Ministry of Households manage? I think this is something Elder Xu Ge and Lord Gao can't afford."

"Who is responsible for what you mean?" Yan Shifan immediately stared at Zhang Juzheng.

"I didn't say who should bear the burden." Zhang Juzheng still said Langlang, "Everything can be done if it is not forewarned. If you still don't spend according to the budget like last year and eat your own food, after the food is used up, you really don't know me. What else is there to eat!"

Yan Shifan immediately pushed back: "You mean that last year we built river embankments for Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and built a palace for the emperor, which has already brought my Daming to its desperation!"

Zhang Juzheng frowned: "I didn't say that."

Yan Shifan asked aggressively: "Then what did you mean by what you just said?"

"What does Mr. Xiaoge mean, is this year going to be as short-lived as last year!" Gao Gong continued.

"Eunuch Lu, the treacherous minister jumped out on his own!" Yan Shifan felt that today's dispute has to be resolved by death, "Gao Gong is one! And Zhang Juzheng!"

Thunder finally rang, and Jiajing returned to the futon, but instead of sitting down, he stood there, quietly waiting for the heavy rain to come down from the hall.

Life and death were hanging by a thread. At this time, Gao Gong not only showed his toughness, but also showed his wisdom. He actually said: "How do you write the word 'rape'? There are three characters for 'female'. I, Gao Gong, am still a poor wife. , Mr. Xiaoge, you just married the ninth concubine's wife just yesterday. I'm afraid the word 'traitor' can't be applied to me, Gao Gong."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Yan Shifan couldn't bear it anymore, and slapped his palm on the table, "I see you, there are some people who were behind Zhou Yunyi's slander against the court on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month last year! Official, when slandering the imperial court, why did you say so clearly the expenditure of the imperial court last year? We wondered at the time. Now I understand that some of us here told him the details in advance! Who instigated him? What, Dare to do it or not to admit it!"

This is to put people to death!
Gao Gong didn't answer.Zhang Juzheng did not answer.

The others were also silent, even Lu Fang, who could not speak on behalf of the emperor this time, looked at the passage between the veils on the east side of the hall, and many people subconsciously looked at that passage. aisle.The hall fell into a deathly silence, and time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

Finally, a voice came from the tunnel of heavy veils. It was the voice of Jiajing reciting poems: "Practice so that your body looks like a crane..." Between the second layer of veils connecting the tunnel to the main hall, Emperor Jiajing fluttered his sleeves. Show up.

All the people immediately knelt down quietly without shouting long live, waiting for Jiajing to finish reciting the next few lines of poems.

Jiajing walked to the throne in the middle, and then chanted: "Two Letters of Sutras under the Thousand Plants of Pine Trees. I came to ask Wuyu and said, the clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle." After reading, he had already walked to the throne, did not sit down, just Holding an armrest on the side of the throne with one hand, he looked indifferently at the person kneeling on the ground.

Knowing that he had finished reading, Yan Song took the lead and shouted: "I wish the emperor—"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!" All the people kowtowed in unison.

Jiajing looked at Yan Song: "Old Yan Ge, Yan Shifan said that Zhou Yunyi who slandered the court has a backer, and the backer is in your cabinet. Who do you say is Zhou Yunyi's backer?"

Yan Song replied: "Go back to the emperor, there is no Zhou Yunyi's backstage here."

Jiajing asked again: "Then why Zhou Yunyi was able to explain so clearly the expenditure of the imperial court last year?"

Yan Song replied: "The imperial court has no selfish account. For example, last year Yingtian built the Baimao River and Wusong River, Zhejiang built the Xin'an River, and the severe drought in Henan and Shaanxi were all money allocated by the Ming Dynasty."

Jiajing raised the tone of the question: "How does he know the cost of building several palaces in the palace?"

Yan Song answered very calmly: "This shows that the money used by the Ministry of Industry is a clear account."

No one expected that Yan Song would reply like this when a political tide was about to happen. Whether they understood or not, the tense faces of many people gradually relaxed, and some people knelt there and began to secretly look at Jiajing's face.

Jiajing's face also stretched, and he sat down with a smile: "Get up, get up, and then finish the quarrel."

Everyone kowtowed again, then stood up.Only Yan Shifan felt a little lost, and looked at Yan Song aggrievedly.

"Don't look at your father like that." Jiajing's eyes turned to Yan Shifan, "You must study hard."

"Yes." Yan Shifan froze, and quickly lowered his eyes.

Jiajing smiled and said: "I just read Li Ao's "Word Poetry" in the Tang Dynasty. My favorite is the last line 'clouds are in the blue sky, water is in the bottle'. Some of you are clouds and some are water. What you do It’s just different. They are all loyal ministers, and there are no treacherous ministers.”

Yan Shifan seemed to muster up his courage, and looked at Jiajing: "Back to the emperor, what Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng said just now is exactly the same as what Zhou Yunyi said on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, so I have to doubt it."

"There's nothing wrong with being exactly the same." Jiajing's words made everyone hold their breath again.

Jiajing sighed lightly: "I feel a little regretful about Zhou Yunyi being beaten to death now. He has no private thoughts, but his words disturb the government. I also ordered him to be beaten with twenty court sticks. I didn't expect him to ... Lu Fang."

"The servant is here." Lu Fang replied quickly.

Jiajing's tone turned cold: "You should also take care of the people in Dongchang. Find out who killed Zhou Yunyi on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month."

Lu Fang showed due panic, and replied in a low voice: "Yes. The servant will investigate when he goes down."

Jiajing's voice turned soft: "Zhou Yunyi's family heard that there are a lot of children, and there is an old mother, so I want to appease you, set aside some money, and get it from Da Nei."

Lu Fang responded immediately: "Yes. The slave will do it when he goes down."

"It's hard to be a country, but it's also hard to be a family. The country and the family are the same thing." Jiajing sighed, and suddenly turned his attention to Yan Shifan: "Yan Shifan, just now Gao Gong said that you married the ninth lady yesterday?"

Yan Shifan was a little surprised, and knelt down: "After the minister returns, I will send the young wives back to my mother's house."

"Only a good man marries nine wives!" Jiajing smiled, "What should I do if I send her back? Or stay, as long as I can focus more on court affairs. Get up."

"Yes." Yan Shifan's voice was so low that only he could hear it.

"Last year has passed, what should we do this year? We should quarrel and we should quarrel. Mr. Ge, you are the head of the cabinet. What are your plans?" After paving the streets with stones, Jiajing brought the conversation to the point.

"To be in charge of the family is nothing more than reducing expenditure and increasing income." Yan Song said very sincerely, "For example, last year, any expenditure was justified, but do we have to spend so much? Zhang Juzheng was right just now, 'Anything that is forewarned is established For example, if the Ministry of Industry is building a palace for the palace, why doesn’t it take wood from Yunnan and Guizhou instead of transporting wood from Nanyang through the sea? It’s because the wood from the mountains in Yunnan and Guizhou can’t be transported. I remember the imperial court in the 36th year of Jiajing It was discussed that the construction of roads in Yunnan and Guizhou is convenient for the government to manage the chieftains in the mountains, and it is also convenient for the mountain people to transport the mountain goods. If this matter was implemented at that time, the extra 300 million taels of timber spent by the palace last year would be saved. come down."

Jiajing nodded sincerely, then looked at Yan Shifan again.

"The Ministry of Works is responsible for this matter, and the minister is responsible." Yan Shifan had no choice but to take the blame.

Jiajing looked even better, and nodded again.

Yan Song continued the above topic and said: "All expenditures this year must focus on these, and then the cabinet will discuss it carefully."

"Zhang Juzheng." Jiajing suddenly called Zhang Juzheng's name.

Zhang Juzheng replied immediately: "The minister is here."

Jiajing then asked: "You said just now that 'everything is forewarned, nothing is foregone.' Is that what Ge Lao meant?"

Zhang Juzheng replied sullenly: "That's what it means, but Mr. Ge said it more thoroughly."

Jiajing immediately showed appreciation: "I just heard you calculate the accounts very thoroughly. You said that as long as the commercial roads on the sea are smooth, my merchant ships from Ming Dynasty can transport the goods to Persia and India, and we can open up 1000 million yuan a year. Two or more silver. I want to hear your thoughts on this.”

"Yes." Zhang Juzheng was obviously agitated, but tried his best to calm his mind, "Actually, this is not the minister's idea. Since the third year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Wen ordered Zheng He to lead the fleet to the Western Seas. Until more than ten years after Jiajing, maritime trade was still frequent. Later, because of the Japanese pirate riots, the sea was not calm, and the business was hindered. The minister was in the Ministry of War, and also from the Ministry of War, thinking that it seems that the military pay should be increased for Fujian and Zhejiang, so that Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou's troops Raise troops, build warships, and then take the initiative to attack, wipe out Japanese pirates, and reopen the road to sea merchants."

"Zhang Juzheng discussed this idea with the minister." Yan Song immediately took over.

Xu Jie and Gao Gong immediately looked at Zhang Juzheng subconsciously.Zhang Juzheng was taken aback at first, then shook his head slightly as if confessing his love to Xu Jie and Gao Gong.To show that he did not have any discussions with Yan Song.

Yan Song lightly fired a shot, and slowly continued: "As long as the road to the merchants on the sea surface is smooth, the next step is to ship something. For example, silk from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. A piece of high-quality silk can be sold for six taels of silver in the mainland. In Western countries, it can be sold for more than ten taels of silver. Now Yingtian has [-] looms, and Zhejiang has [-] looms. Can we increase the number of looms and produce more silk?"

"Of course." This time it was Jiajing's turn to rush to speak, "The key is silk. How to increase mulberry fields and produce more silk."

Yan Song immediately continued: "The emperor is wise. It has always been the silk that should be supplied to the sky, and it is mostly supplied by Zhejiang. The climate makes Zhejiang suitable for planting mulberry and producing silkworms. The cabinet means that half of the existing farmland in Zhejiang should be allocated to mulberry fields. More than 1000 million taels of silk can be produced a year, which means that 20 pieces of silk can be produced more.”

Jiajing asked again: "The farmlands have been changed to mulberry fields. How will the people of Zhejiang eat food?"

Yan Song quickly replied: "Allocate from other provinces. In the past, other provinces would allocate more than 100 million shi of grain to Zhejiang every year, just increase the mulberry fields and then increase the grain."

Jiajing then asked: "The grain transferred from other provinces must be more expensive than the grain produced by ourselves. Are the mulberry farmers in Zhejiang willing?"

Yan Song then replied: "The silk yield per mu of mulberry fields is higher than the grain harvest per mu of farmland."

Jiajing stopped asking, and finally said the following sentence that should be said by himself: "One more thing, the mulberry fields that have been changed are still taxed according to farmland, and no tax increases are allowed."

(End of this chapter)