Chapter 334: Money Is the only Difficulty, the Joys and Sorrows of the Ruler and His Subjects
Winter is a snowy season, and the snow in the capital this year is particularly heavy.
Zizi...
At noon, a group of important officials came in sedan chairs on the snow. Because the snow on the ground was not cleaned in time, the boots squeezed out the air inside, so a rhythmic sound was made.
Chang Feng led the Jinwu Guards to guard the West Garden Gate in the wind and snow. Seeing these important officials gathering, he knew that a grand financial meeting would be held today.
"Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest, good snow!"
Li Si, the Minister of Revenue, looked a little older. He looked up and didn't care about a snowflake falling on his eyelashes. He looked at the goose feather snow falling from the sky and sighed sincerely.
Whether it is the empire's finances or the food, clothing and daily expenses of ordinary people, the Ming Dynasty needs a good harvest now.
Although more and more voices call the emperor a tyrant, the targets of the empire's tyranny are always the rich and powerful who are rich and unkind, and the empire implements benevolent policies for ordinary people.
If a good year could be ushered in, the court would not only have more fiscal revenue, but also have enough productivity to build water conservancy and develop Jianzhou.
As long as they could survive the hard days in the early stage, the Ming Dynasty would surely become a truly powerful country, and would be able to seize resources from the surrounding areas to develop itself.
"Don't let the snow fall like this any more. Once the construction period at the shipyard is delayed, the Ministry of Works will not be able to bear the blame from His Majesty!" Jia Jun, the Minister of Works, also came in a thick fur coat, but he protested in a low voice.
Since the discovery of five gold mines on Luzon Island by the Ming Dynasty was confirmed, the emperor was even more convinced of the Taizu's dream, and there must be high-yield corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes on the other side of the ocean.
Now the Royal Shipyard has launched a plan to build the Zhiyuan Treasure Ship, which will cross the East China Sea and send envoys to bring back high-yield crop seeds grown on the other side of the ocean.
Although he is not the Minister of Revenue, he also knows the value of high-yield seeds. Once there are high-yield crops, their value will be far greater than the Luzon gold mine, and the people of the Ming Dynasty can live a truly well-fed life.
However, if the snow continues to fall like this, it will not only affect the time of the Zhiyuan Treasure Ship's launch, but will also seriously affect the shipbuilding progress of the Zhiyuan Treasure Ship.
Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Li Si knew the difficulties of Jia Jun's leadership of the Ministry of Works, and the weather in the future depended on the sky, so he only glanced at Jia Jun.
Due to different identities, they have different positions, but they all hope that the empire can become more and more prosperous.
Sedan chairs arrived one after another, but they all stopped more than ten meters away from the Xiyuan Gate, and the officials who arrived later greeted them one after another.
"Minister Li, please check the number of people!"
Second Assistant Liu Ji now honestly plays the role of a regent. Seeing that the important personnel of the six ministries have almost arrived, he lightly reminds Minister of Personnel Li Yu.
Li Yu has been in the position of Minister of Personnel for four years, and his position is becoming more and more stable, and he has more and more the temperament of a great leader.
There are a total of 18 important officials in the six ministries, and Wang Yue, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, came to supervise. However, the two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Works and the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue were not in the capital, so the total number of people was 17.
After checking the personnel, Li Yu reported to Liu Ji: "Second Assistant, except for the First Assistant, all other personnel have arrived!"
Wan'an is old after all, and he has constant problems especially in winter.
Some time ago, he suddenly had abdominal cramps and could not get out of bed. The emperor sent the imperial doctor to treat Wan'an, but he was only two days after he recovered, but he caught a cold again, causing him to stay in bed for several days.
Emperor Hongzhi was magnanimous to Wan'an. He not only sent the imperial doctor to treat him, but also granted Wan'an sick leave, and often sent people to care about his condition.
Now Wan'an did not come, it is very likely that he could not be present due to illness.
Cough cough...
At this time, a sedan chair came hurriedly from the south, and the person in the sedan chair coughed violently.
"Your humble servants greet the Prime Minister!" Deputy Prime Minister Liu Ji and others greeted the hunchbacked old man who came out of the sedan chair respectfully.
Although Wan'an always survived the illnesses, he looked old and frail, and was completely different from the figure running wildly in Fengtianmen Square that day.
Cough cough...
Wan'an's hands were as thin as sticks. He walked out of the sedan chair with the help of his son Wan Yi. He couldn't help coughing a few more times and gently waved to the important ministers who saluted.
"Dad, why don't you take a leave!" Wan Yi felt his old father's body trembling slightly, and couldn't help but dissuade him.
Although Wan'an's expression was stiff, his eyes were still sharp. He glared at his son fiercely, and then gave Liu Ji a look.
Liu Ji had worked with Wan An for many years, so he naturally knew what Wan An meant. He said to the important officials present: "Let's follow the Prime Minister in!"
Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and Jia Jun, the Minister of Works, exchanged glances silently. They didn't expect Wan An to insist on coming despite his serious illness. This move alone deserved their respect.
"Old man, I wonder how long you can last!" He Qiaoxin, the Minister of Punishment, looked at Wan An's staggering figure and said bitterly.
Although Wan An was also a poet, he was not a clean official, but he got to the top by flattering, so he was despised by their upright officials.
Now that he came to the Hongzhi Dynasty, Wan An, a flattering minister, tried his best to curry favor with the tyrant Hongzhi, and has become the biggest traitor since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
That's right, they all hope that Wan'an and Liu Mianhua will die, so that they can be replaced by real clean officials to lead them to restore Zhou Li and create a prosperous era.
Huh?
Wang Yue was not a participant in the Supreme Conference, but had always been a bystander, but he noticed the vicious eyes of He Qiaoxin, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and immediately stared at him with vigilance.
The location of the Supreme Conference was still arranged in the Imperial Study, and now the floor heating has started to operate.
After the important officials came here, they took off their fur coats because they were covered with snow hair.
The fur coats they wore were a special reward given to them by Hongzhi when he dealt with the spoils of war when the Ming Dynasty recovered Jianzhou last year.
Although they had the financial resources to buy a fur coat, wearing the fur coat they bought was too eye-catching, but the emperor's reward was naturally another matter.
That's why they paid special attention to the fur coats on their bodies. First, they hung the fur coats carefully outside, and then walked into the warm imperial study.
They can be said to be frequent visitors here, and now they are enjoying the floor heating, which makes them feel indescribably comfortable.
Everyone has become accustomed to this mode of discussion. Compared with the previous mode, the current decision-making is more efficient and faster, especially the cooperation between departments is close.
Twenty-one chairs have been prepared. After greeting, the officials who came took their seats according to their yamen and official positions.
"Let's get started!"
Zhu Youtang was quietly sipping tea in the attic. When he saw the internal and six officials arrived, he spoke lightly.
The most important thing in the financial meeting is naturally money. Although the income of the Ming Dynasty court has been greatly improved this year, the expenditure is also huge.
Unlike what many people think, they think that as long as the feudal dynasty can achieve political clarity, it can create the prosperity of the Zhou Dynasty.
It's just that the social productivity is here, and the volume of social wealth cannot be inexhaustible. Not to mention that it is impossible to squeeze all the rich gentry dry, even if all the social wealth can be returned to the court for redistribution, in fact, it can only live a good life for a few years.
That's right. If the Ming Dynasty wants to be truly strong now, it is not enough to just take back some social wealth from the official gentry. The most important thing is to improve social productivity.
The upper and lower floors of the attic are already considered two levels.
Guo Yong stood below holding a Buddhist whisk. When he got the signal, he spoke in a unique tone: "My lords, this is next year's financial meeting. After the Ministry of Revenue explains the details of this year's finances, everyone will speak freely!"
Although everyone already knew that the Ministry of Revenue was stretched, they did not know the specific amount, so they turned their heads to look at Li Si.
Li Si's butt did not move, but coughed lightly.
Wu Yu, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, had already prepared and immediately announced the country's various economic data, but there was no joy on his face.
"The luxury tax is only 2.5 million taels?"
"It's a little less, but it's still an important income!"
"The biggest problem now is that our expenses are too high and we can't afford it at all!"
...
After hearing the details of the court's financial expenditure, officials such as Xu Qiong, the Minister of Rites, did not show any joy, but instead looked worried.
Since Emperor Hongzhi ascended the throne, he has rectified the salt administration, surveyed the land, investigated the first corruption in the Ming Dynasty, and introduced luxury taxes, all of which have increased fiscal revenue.
But as some people lamented, the biggest problem now is that the court's expenses are too high, so that it has fallen into the dilemma of fiscal deficit.
Zhu Youtang in the attic drank a sip of tea silently, and also sighed secretly, realizing that the biggest financial problem is actually excessive expenses.
However, the Ming Dynasty is now plagued by many problems, and the quality of life of the people will continue to decline. If nothing is done, even if there is no Jianzhou Jurchen, there will be other forces to overthrow the corrupt dynasty.
That's right. Although he has no intention to change the political system, he wants to build the most powerful dynasty and even become the only tyrant who can unify the world.
"Although our fiscal expenditure is a lot, which one is not a great achievement for future generations, and which one can be stopped?" Li Yu, the Minister of Revenue, heard these voices and immediately asked a soul-searching question.
Due to various factors, the current fiscal expenditure of the court is indeed very high, but each expenditure is not the result of a hot-headed decision, but a decision made after careful consideration.
Governing the Yellow River is related to the people's livelihood water conservancy project, and it is also the livelihood of the people in Henan, Hebei and Shandong provinces, so it is impossible to stop it.
Developing Jianzhou is not only the hope of survival for millions of disaster victims, but also the Northeast Granary Plan related to the food security of the capital of the Ming Dynasty. There is no reason to stop it.
The military strengthening plan is the cornerstone of the Ming Dynasty's prosperity. It not only guarantees the safety of the territory and border residents of the Ming Dynasty, but also escorts the Ming Dynasty to go out, so it cannot be stopped either.
Zhiyuan Treasure Ship, this seemingly least important project, is a strong guarantee for the Ming Dynasty to become stronger. By promoting the planting of high-yield crops, more people can be freed from the constraints of the land.
The Ming Dynasty has been engaged in intensive farming for thousands of years, and many planting experiences have been perfected. With their composting technology, the only way to increase production is to invent fertilizers.
However, the progress of science and technology has never been achieved overnight, but requires scientific research accumulated over time.
Even now, the Ministry of Industry still cannot make nylon ropes, and it is not easy to get fertilizers, so the best way is to introduce high-yield crops.
If high-yield crops can be obtained, the productivity of the entire society can be improved, and food can also be increased rapidly.
That's right. Compared with the rapid growth of food production, it would be a very cost-effective deal to squeeze out a fiscal expenditure to build the Zhiyuan Treasure Ship. Naturally, there is no reason to stop it.
"It's useless to argue too much, empty talk will hurt the country, and hard work will make the country prosperous! Now we have to focus on the current difficulties and solve the most urgent funding problem in the near future!" Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, is now more calm and expressed his opinion immediately.
Officials such as Xu Qiong, the Minister of Rites, knew that these expenditures could not be stopped, so they kept their mouths shut.
"The biggest problem at present is the initial funding gap for the development of the Luzon gold mine. After the inspection of the officials of the Ministry of Works accompanying this time, it is estimated that three million taels will be invested!" Li Si, the Minister of Revenue, sighed lightly and revealed the biggest problem.
The development of the Luzon gold mine had been put on the schedule a few months ago, but after the emperor allocated all the silver prepared by the Ministry of Revenue to the Royal Shipyard, he could no longer afford the initial expenses of opening the mine.
Originally, the autumn harvest had filled some of the funding gaps, but civil and military officials, vassal states, military honors, royal relatives and the army all needed to be paid, which was a huge expense.
Although three million taels does not sound like a lot, this was after all an era when overseas silver did not flow in like crazy, and today's three million is simply an astronomical number.
Li Si's hair fell out in handfuls during this period, but there was still no good solution. The gap of three million taels was like a mountain pressing on his heart.
Faced with such a thorny problem, he also added: "There are not many transactions of luxury houses in the capital this year, so the luxury tax may be reduced by more than half next year!"
In the proportion of luxury tax, the largest proportion is actually luxury houses in the capital, but the capital in the capital is no longer keen on speculating on luxury houses, and the decline in transaction volume has also affected the income of luxury tax.
When officials such as Jia Jun, the Minister of Industry, learned that the income had actually decreased, they sighed in their hearts, and the current finances are really worse.
"Didn't we mention earlier that we could raise mining funds by issuing national bonds? How is the Ministry of Revenue investigating this matter? Is it possible to try it out?" Xu Qiong, the Minister of Rites, suddenly asked as if he had thought of something.
Everyone also remembered this matter and turned their heads to look at Li Si.
Although eating the grain of the next year is regarded as drinking poison to quench thirst, mining gold now will have a continuous output, which is a win-win approach.
Li Si did not speak, and Wu Yu, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue behind him, stood up and said: "Our Ministry of Revenue has already conducted a questionnaire survey, but the effect is not ideal. Everyone is still worried that the court will default!"
As soon as these words came out, the hearts of everyone present were half cold again.