Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 639

How confused Nanming was in history. After Zuo Maodi’s mission failed, in order to save it, Jiangnan even sent out several tank boats like the capital, hoping to use this to buy Jiannu not to go south. As a result, these grains just became Jiannu rations.

Fortunately, this time the food finally went to the right place. On the Yangtze River, the boats were full, but this time the goal was not to go north, but to go west. The hundred thousand shi grains were all shipped to Henan , to support the life-and-death war between Li Zicheng and Jiannu, and let the enemies who once fought against the Ming Dynasty carry a peaceful sky for Jiangnan.

"Military commander, take care!"

Standing at the pier, Song Qingshu waved his hands and said goodbye with a hearty smile, while standing on the water tanker, Song Xiance, the dwarf Song who was as famous as Song Fool, still seemed a bit reluctant, or unwilling.

"Song Shuai, King Chuang is looking forward to fighting side by side with you again day and night, do you really not consider sending troops to Henan?"

"When I am here, I have food and weapons. If I am not here, the things here will be moved to the house by those guys, and there will be nothing left."

On the other side of the pier, Qian Qianyi also came to see him off as Minister of Rites. He failed miserably in the Beishi case again. Song Qingshu was obviously ashamed to come here, and he happened to be the target of Song Qingshu's ridicule. Seeing Song Qingshu seemed to make gestures at himself, The old guy's face was obviously ugly again.

However, Song Qingshu's words were not aimless. After taking over the household department, he knew how corrupt the Ming Dynasty was. [-]% outside the third floor, and there is not even [-]% left when it is really useful.

A while ago, Wang Yaozhi had just taken over the household department, and it cost 1 taels of silver to repair a small section of Yingtiandong city wall. At that time, the household department had no silver, so he borrowed it from Song Qingshu. After going back and forth, corrupt officials found out half of the household department, and sent them all to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Then Song Qingshu took over the project, and the repair was stronger than the court's labor, and it cost only 700 taels.

But even if the corruption is like this, people like Qian Qianyi and Gao Hongtu used the officialdom as an excuse to clamor for Song Qingshu and Wang Yao's eunuch to frame him, exclude dissidents, and make this matter aroused.

Not only corrupt officials big and small, but even Kuding, who is not well-known, is a rat. I used to see anecdotes and easy things. It is said that the Qing Dynasty bank Kuding each possessed unique skills, and could force twelve large silver ingots into the chest. There was no change in his face, and he was carried out. A few days ago, Qiufu was stored in the warehouse, and Song Qingshu sent someone to check it on a whim. In three days, he forcibly pulled out more than 700 silver ingots from his crotch.

It is conceivable that the reason why Emperor Chongzhen was in such a state of distress was not without reason.

Song Xiance rebelled with Li Zicheng, and what he did was to beat local tyrants. He also entered the capital once, came to torture his salary once, and saw the empty treasury of starving rats and rich officials wearing gold threads. Song Xiance Offering advice was also silent, and immediately hugged Song Qingshu silently.

Saying take care to each other, Song Xiance turned around and boarded a boat all the way west with the food and supplies that he had paid for in blood. Maybe this time, Dashun could last a little longer in his hands and give Jiangnan more hope. Preparation time.

…………

In September, envoys who established slavery publicly clamored and declared war in the court hall, which still shocked the Jiangnan court. It was rare for the scholar-bureaucrats who lived in comfort to miss a few banquets at the banquet table, and there were also many poems written by scholars nostalgic for Qin Huai. A bit of a sour taste of worrying about the country and the people.

There are still some substantial changes, though not positive ones.

It was another day of court meeting, and Emperor Hongguang Zhao was more depressed than before he took the throne for more than three months, with two dark circles under his eyes, sitting on the dragon chair, his eyes were raised, and he didn't know if he was asleep or awake. Underneath, the Ministry of War The dull voice of the servant Lu Daqi holding the wat was also like the old lady's foot wrap, which was stinky and long, and circled in the court hall.

"Your Majesty, the army of captives from the east is suppressing the border. However, the Chu army and the three towns in Jiangbei are short of reports. There are 180 soldiers on the Chu town's roster, and they have been owed wages for a year. They need 240 million taels of silver, and each of the three towns has 100 soldiers. , needs to pay 12 million taels, and an additional 240 million for the true color. There are [-] people in Jiangdu, Anfu, Wufu, Wenwu Caojiang, Zheng Hongkui, Zheng Cai, etc., and [-] million taels. The war is imminent, and the ministries have paid It's been more than half a month, but the Ministry of Household Affairs ignores it and ignores it."

"Your Majesty, the battle is imminent, and it is the time for the soldiers to use their lives. This delay in paying the military salary really makes the soldiers' teeth cold. I am bold. Please pay the military salary early to reassure the soldiers!"

The draft and the two political battles in the North have already shaken the reputation of the Donglin Party, so the Donglin Party is eager to provoke a new political dispute. This time Lu Daqi obviously pointed the finger at the households controlled by the West India Company party. The department is gone, flies don’t bite seamless eggs, and the household department is in the hands of Song Qingshu, and it is indeed not so clean. Recently, Song Qingshu almost took the servant of the household department and the documents below, according to the mill, the principal, and the staff. Most of the rights have been replaced by the accounting group of the West India Company, and every expenditure can not eat a bite of the fat rice worms. Recently, there have been many complaints in Yingtian.

Although Song Qingshu was not corrupt, but had to pay the salary of the accounting team, but this is indeed against the rules.

However, the arrow shot by Lu Daqi angrily, Hubu Shangshu Wang Yaozhi not only didn't panic, but looked like he couldn't wake up, lazily drooping his heavy eyelids, stood up slowly and hugged Hu. plate.

"Your Majesty, if you don't pay attention to the Ministry of Household Affairs, this season's tax income is 290 million taels, 500 million shi for the original color, 100 million taels of silver for the imperial palace, 100 million shi for grain, 20 for the draft, and honorable officials in Beijing. Lumi and local salary expenditures of 50 taels, 200 million shi of rice, and the supply of silver for the forbidden army, plus His Majesty’s reward, a total of 30 taels, 18 shi of grain, and the remaining 90 taels of silver, 200 million shi of rice, were almost all given to Yangzhou The Governor's Bachelor of History."

"Your Majesty, 65 taels of silver and 30 million stones of grain are needed to build the Yangtze River. Jiangxi was hit by floods, and 50 silver and 6000 grains were needed to relieve refugees. At this time, there are only [-] taels of silver in Taicang, and less than a half of the grain. Wan Shi! If Master Lu demands this military expenditure by force, I will ask you to resign yourself and return to your hometown!"

Saying that, Wang Yaozhi kowtowed to the ground in a really disheartened way.

Hearing his words, the menacing Lu Daqi, Gao Hongtu and others were really dumbfounded for a while. Since Wang Yaozhi dared to talk here, he is not afraid of people to investigate. Originally thought that Song Qingshu was greedy and could pocket his own money, but he didn't expect it to be so It was a mess, he hesitated for a moment, Lu Daqi backed back cheekily, no one in the entire court knew what to say for a while, it was almost exactly the same as the predicament encountered by the Chongzhen Dynasty, the court had no money!

But seeing that Jiannu might conquest him soon, the interior was either flooded or flooded, the huge imperial court was just around the corner from the autumn harvest, and it was almost spent in less than a month. Without money, how could the imperial court still operate? Finally, After hesitating for a few minutes, the imperial envoy Yang Tingshu stood up again under the gaze of Gao Hongtu, a scholar of Dongge University.

"Your Majesty, a country cannot stand without money. Today there are bandits from the east, Zhang bandits inside Sichuan, Tian bandits messing up Zhejiang, and the court has no money. It is at stake. Please increase taxes and levy!"

It is almost impossible to stop the construction of the palace, and the Donglin Party fought with the eunuch emperor for more than two months before showing signs of restraint in the draft. Zhu Yousong even let go of this in private. Xiao Le, the ministers are very obstructive, why don't you force me to follow the example of my ancestors?

Emperor Wanli had not been in court for 30 years, and the Ming Dynasty had turned cancerous so far. In this situation, the Donglin Party really couldn't stand the second emperor who had not been in court for 30 years, and they didn't dare to say much to them.

Now that the imperial court can't open the pot, the only thing to do is to increase taxes!
But regarding the tax increase, Zhu Yousong shook his head hesitantly.

"inappropriate!"

It’s not because of his conscience that the Chongzhen Dynasty was defeated before. He increased Liao’s salary, increased training salary, and increased suppression salary, which forced the world’s rebels. They didn’t add much money in a year, but the country perished. This is bloody The precedent, could not help him not vigilant.

"Your Majesty, the times are pressing! If Jiannu troops come to the south of the Yangtze River, it will be a bloody disaster. I believe the people will understand!"

This matter was provoked by Donglin, and it was Donglin Lu Daqi who couldn't get off the stage. Seeing Ma Shiying's presence, Gao Hongtu had no choice but to stand up to smooth things over, followed by Qian Qianyi who had no choice but to stand up come out.

"Your Majesty, two cents per mu for cultivated land, five cents per mu for cultivated land, and one cent per mu for mountain ponds. The common people should still be able to afford it. The military situation is like fire!"

"Yes, yes! Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, my people have been suffering for a year, and it won't be too late to bring down the tax after we beat back the slaves!"

After all, it is the Donglin Party. There are so many people in the imperial court, and more than half of them joined in for a while. However, seeing the appearance of these ministers rushing forward, an untimely sneer suddenly rang out among the courtiers .

"Hehe, this is exactly the same as when the three rates were increased. All the princes are worried about the country and shouting so happily, but it turns out that none of them pay taxes!"

Is it okay to speak sarcastic words against the courtiers?Immediately aroused public outrage, Qian Qianyi and others all turned their heads to stare angrily, but under the murderous eyes, Song Qingshu walked out of the court leisurely, holding the wat and bowing slightly to the emperor.

Seeing that Song Qingshu jumped out on his own initiative, and took the hot potato back, Qian Qianyi was really happy, and finally covered up his schadenfreude, and hugged Song Qingshu with a serious face.

"Since the Marquis of Jingnan is so opposed to tax increases, what can be done to deal with the danger of the imperial court's expenses?"

"Measuring the land!"

As soon as these four words came out, those Donglin Party members and even most of the local bureaucrats in the south of the Yangtze River who only showed a smug smile couldn't laugh anymore. On the contrary, Song Qingshu himself had that kind of fighting smile. After defeating Li Yan and eliminating this long-standing enemy, his secret investigation of Tianmu in the south of the Yangtze River is coming to an end, and this is the time when the battle is raging.

Song Qingshu's fluttering words seem to be hoeing at the lifeblood of these bureaucratic landlords in the south of the Yangtze River!
(End of this chapter)