First Minister of Ming Dynasty

First Minister Section 543

Don't you want to sing opera? I'll take you to the north and sing for the Mongols!

Of course, this is just a trivial matter, the real fatal thing is to check the warehouse.

Li Shanchang really deserves to be an old fox. He has long known that even the capital city has a lot of problems.Outside, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and he is so bold that he doesn't know how outrageous things will happen.

It's best not to check without checking, and drag yourself home after resigning from office, and this matter will be over.

However, Zhu Biao wanted to investigate with all his heart, and Xu Da was also watching from the side. To Li Shanchang's surprise, Zhu Biao also ordered Jin Yiwei to assist in the investigation.

This gang of killing gods is destined to be helpless if they get involved.Li Shanchang can only bite the bullet and check it out!

The first to conduct a thorough investigation is the Fujian Chengxuan Political Commissioner.

The main reason is that it was reported not long ago that Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, was hit by a typhoon, heavy rain fell, and countless houses were damaged.Ships moored at the pier were also damaged a lot.

Another batch of tea, as many as [-] shi, was washed away by the heavy rain before it could be shipped out, which even affected foreign trade.Tens of thousands of tea farmers have no money to make a living, and urgently need relief from the court.

Zhu Biao also knows that saving people is like fighting a fire, and there is no time to waste.

But the problem is that there are not many reserves in the treasury.

According to the report below, there are at least 180 million stones of food in the treasury of the chief envoy.

According to this amount, it is enough to save yourself.

But he didn't want to save himself, so he insisted on crying poor with the court.If it is casual, it would be too easy to say that the money and food will be distributed.

check!

An order went down, and the result was shocking.

Not to mention 180 million shi, there was not even 18 shi. The deficit was so great that Xu Da was stunned.

Li Shanchang was also dumbfounded. I knew that this matter couldn't be investigated, but you didn't listen to it. Now it's all right. There is such a big hole, how can I fill it?

Li Yu, the chief minister, and Li Dequan, the procurator for punishment, said that it was because of the windstorm, and then the heavy rain fell, and a lot of grains in stock were soaked in the rain and moldy, so they had no choice but to throw them away.

"Mr. Li, do you believe this result?"

Li Shanchang said with a wry smile: "If that's the case, then the only one to check is the person who built the granary in the first place."

Lao Li was right, the construction of the grain warehouse should be done carefully, not to mention the wind and rain, even if the sky falls and the earth falls, the government will keep the grain in stock, nothing will happen.

It is commonplace to keep it for more than ten years or decades.

What's the point of building a warehouse if it's ruined by just one rain?

"Mr. Li, what do you think we should do?"

Li Shanchang said: "The officials in charge of the treasury should be taken down, and the whereabouts of the grain should be traced at the same time."

Zhu Biao chuckled, "I'm afraid it won't work just to pursue the treasury officials. Li Yu, the chief minister, and Li Dequan, the inspector, will take them all!"

Li Shanchang was taken aback, his heart beating wildly.

He knew very well that these two people were able to come up through Lu Ben's door.If the investigation is carried out, I am afraid that Lu Ben and the crown prince's side concubine Lu family are not safe, and it is not just as simple as dismissing from office and returning to their hometown.

But Zhu Biao is firm and merciless.

"Arrest people immediately and track them down to the end!"

Li Shanchang had no choice, Jin Yiwei acted immediately.

Li Yu, the chief envoy, and Li Dequan, the inspector, were all taken down within a day.

With the arrest of these two people, more than 30 people in all prefectural and county yamen and chief officials at all levels were also exposed.As a result, the treasury has been emptied.

After checking the entire province, almost everyone fell into it.

Faced with this result, Zhu Biao also felt his scalp tingle.

"Isn't there a single upright official in such a huge province?"

Xu Da said in a muffled voice: "Return to Your Highness, Nan'an County Magistrate, an innocent official, was not involved in it!"

Zhu Biao immediately said: "Are you sure you are innocent?"

"Indeed!" Xu Da replied emphatically.

"That's good, get promoted immediately, let him serve as chief envoy, and reorganize the officialdom!"

Chapter 753 Brotherly Love

"Yes, the prince is very courageous!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied with a smile on his face, and couldn't help but praise, "At first we thought about going back to wipe his ass, but I didn't expect that no matter the state affairs or family affairs, we did a remarkable job, very good!"

Old Zhu was not stingy with compliments, and suddenly turned his head to Empress Ma and said: "Sister, look at this, we can stay in Beiping for a few more days, and take a look around, the scenery of the northern country is really special!"

Empress Ma was stunned, "I'm quite worried about my grandson's illness. The child is young, and he is going through hell every step of the way... But with Jiang Nan taking care of me, I can rest assured. She is much more careful than me."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. He couldn't agree more with this statement. Otherwise, why would Empress Ma bother to let the emperor's grandson worship under Xia Zhifeng's family...

It happened that the old in-laws made such a thing, embarrassing Empress Ma, if Xia Zhifeng and the royal family were separated because of this, it would be bad.

"Cheonghachi, do you think you need to do something?"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed, "Sister, it's fine if others say it, but you're wrong if you say it like that... This kind of thing, if you talk about it, it will seem out of place."

Empress Ma was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is still wise. Indeed, neither we nor Mr. Zhang need to talk about this kind of thing. It is true that one family does not talk about two things."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Sister, if you want us to say, housework doesn't matter, the real thing is the deficit... Now the warehouses in Fujian province are almost empty. If we can't get enough food to fill in time and stabilize the price, we are afraid that Biaoer will lose money." It's not easy to pass a level!"

Empress Ma smiled instead: "You have taught him for so many years, Mr. Zhang has also mentioned him, and there are so many courtiers to assist him. If he still can't solve it, he will not be able to sit firmly in the chair of the prince. Let's just watch and let him Think of ways to!"

Empress Ma was decisive, and Zhu Yuanzhang could only nod.

Now the problem has come to Zhu Biao... When the Fujian warehouse was being checked, the news of the huge deficit came out. The first thing that surprised people was the soaring price of food.

Originally, the two prefectures in Fujian were hit by disasters and there was not enough food. Now it has been found that the warehouses are running short, and the food shortage is even bigger.

Everyone must live!

Always need food!

Now that there is a shortage of food, it is almost inevitable that food prices will skyrocket.

The livelihood of millions of people has become a headache for everyone.

All kinds of news were gathered to the Ministry of Education. Faced with such a result, Li Shanchang glanced at Xu Da and smiled meaningfully. As expected, his worries were fulfilled.

Even though Xu Da is a famous general in many battles, he is still too inexperienced in dealing with government affairs.

"I said Wei Guogong, check it again and again, and make it like this, what should you do?"

Xu Da's face was sullen, and he said angrily: "Li Xiang, the warehouse is short-lived. This is something that can't be covered in paper. I would like to ask for advice. If I don't investigate thoroughly in time, is there any other way to cover it up?"

Li Shanchang looked at Xu Da, and at the moment there was no one else in Zhongshu Province, so he finally let out a long sigh.

"You are not from the officialdom... Well, based on our friendship for so many years, this old man is desperate to give up his life, so I will tell you the truth. I hope you can tell His Highness the truth in the future. Sometimes, if you can't check it, don't check it. It's not that the old man is treacherous and shameless, there are really some things that are difficult to handle!"

Xu Da felt that this was not right, and asked back: "Li Xiang, I want to ask for advice. If you don't check, there is still no food. What can you do?"

Li Shanchang said: "It's not easy. In the name of disaster relief, Fujian's tax is exempted first, and then a part of this year's tax is used to fill the vacancy. Or borrow some food from neighboring provinces. As long as it is available on the market There is also food, even if the price of food fluctuates, it will not make it like this... how much more expensive is the price of food in Quanzhou?"

"It's at least three times more expensive, and many people can no longer afford food." Xu Da said helplessly.

Li Shanchang nodded, "That's it, I'll tell you the reason for it." Li Shanchang pulled up the chair and got closer to Xu Da, and then Lao Li shared his experience... the price of food, Most of the time, you follow your heart.When the big guy is worried and thinks that food will be short.

They would go to great lengths to hoard grain, and even borrow money to buy up the last grain on the market.

In this way, those who are truly poor will not be able to buy food. If the court does not intervene, they will just watch helplessly. These people will become refugees, or simply starve to death, and withdraw from the market. When there are fewer people, people will be at peace. , food prices will come down.

"Wei Guogong, sometimes it is more important for the common people to feel that the court has enough food and that the price of food will not rise. It may not be the best way to expose this matter to the public. .”

Xu Da frowned and was greatly shocked. He was surprised by Li Shanchang's strange talk.

"Li Xianggong, isn't this just deceiving yourself and others? Can't you really make the treasury abundant and the people have no worries about food and clothing?"

Li Shanchang was stunned. It wasn't that he didn't know how to answer, but that it was really difficult for Xu Da, a warrior, to understand the truth.

What a pity, Zhang Ximeng is not in the capital, the master is lonely!

"Wei Guogong, let's talk about how to get food and help fill the hole!"

Xu Da said: "What else is there to say? Didn't Prime Minister Li just say that taxes can be reduced or exempted, and can they be transferred from surrounding provinces?"

Li Shanchang smiled helplessly, "That was before, but not now!"

"Why? Isn't this an order from Zhongshu Sheng?" Xu Da asked in confusion.

Li Shanchang looked up to the sky and laughed, "Duke Wei, you are invincible in wars, but you still have too little experience in this kind of thing. The problem now is that officials are greedy for ink, which has caused a deficit. If the government's taxes are allocated to fill this hole, households How can the Ministry agree? How can the imperial tax budget be easily embezzled?"

"Then, what about the surrounding provinces?" Xu Da asked, "Are they also afraid of the Ministry of Household Affairs and are unwilling to allocate grain?"

"It's not that...the main thing is that they are also short-lived! What if they are found out? Now these people must be saving more food to deal with the crisis, and it is difficult to use it to help Fujian! After all, the mud Buddha crossed the river. It's hard to guarantee!"

Xu Da was dumbfounded, he knew very well that Li Shanchang was talking nonsense, but he couldn't refute him for a while.

"Since that's the case, then go after the stolen goods and find out all the food that has been corrupted!" Xu Da thought of another way.

"It's not that easy!" Li Shanchang looked up to the sky and sighed, "Those grains may indeed have been corrupted, but no one would put hundreds of thousands of shi grains at home. They must have sold them and exchanged them for money. Now Even if we recover the stolen goods immediately, find out the money, and go to buy food, it will take several months... Let me ask you, can the stomachs of the people in Quanzhou and Zhangzhou wait for such a long time?"

Li Shanchang closed the loop of logic here. With his hands behind his back, he sighed helplessly: "Wei Guogong, I know that many people say that this old man is covering up corrupt officials and playing tricks. They feel that I am far less thoughtful than Zhang Xiang. , is really not as good as him. But people in the world don’t understand that it’s not easy to be a paper poster. You have to be careful and cross the river with your eggs in your hands!”

"Take this storage of grain as an example. It took 20 years, and it was impossible to find out all at once. As a result, the crown prince insisted on a thorough investigation, and you all meant the same. Now that we have found half of it, we haven't waited for it. Punish corrupt officials, the price of food in the market has skyrocketed, many poor people can't bear it, they won't blame those corrupt officials, they will only blame us for being troublesome. .”

Xu Da frowned. Hearing this, he couldn't help it anymore.

"Li Xianggong, what's your reasoning? Right and wrong can't be confused, right and wrong can't be confused! Some people are greedy for ink, causing deficits, and making people's livelihood uneasy, so they have to be held accountable, and they have to find a way to deal with the lack of food. They are all lumped together, and if they don’t investigate thoroughly because they are worried, how can they be worthy of the trust of their superiors?” Xu Dayi said seriously.

Li Shanchang heheed twice, "Wei Guogong, if you don't understand, I won't say much... But let me tell you, if Zhang Ximeng handles this case, he will definitely make preparations in advance. Even at the moment of the typhoon, he would not Find out what is missing!"

Xu Da immediately retorted: "No, if you don't investigate now, after a while, it will all be attributed to the damage caused by the wind disaster. If you can't investigate it clearly at all, you will let dozens of corrupt officials get away with it!"

"That's better than starving tens of thousands of people!" Elder Li Shan said angrily, "When the water is clear, there will be no fish! I'm really afraid that if I continue to investigate, I'll run out of money everywhere, and I won't be able to clean it up. Instead, because of us, It messed up the situation."

Facing Li Shanchang's words, Xu Da didn't agree with a single word.However, there is a lack of food at the moment, so it is difficult to allocate food from various places, or think of other ways, and it is also a fact.

What should we do?

Xu Da held his breath, and at this moment, Zhu Biao sent someone to invite them over. Xu Da and Li Shanchang both went to the East Palace and saw Zhu Biao.

Over the past few days, Zhu Biao has lost weight and his face has become smaller, but he has become more mature and majestic.

"Mr. Li, Wei Guogong, I already know about the shortage of food in Fujian. It is very difficult for the provinces to allocate it now. The victims are starving, and there is no delay. I have purchased a hundred ships of food, and it should be sent to Quanzhou at this moment. Keep the price of food down. You need to arrange people to resettle the victims and ensure that the food is delivered to them. Also, those profiteers who took the opportunity to drive up prices and disrupt the market, don’t be polite, find them all!”

In the second half of the sentence, Li Shanchang and Xu Da didn't pay much attention to it. The earlier statement that there were a hundred boats of grain frightened the two of them, but one was a shock and the other was a surprise!

"Your Highness, where did this food come from?" Xu Da asked in surprise.

"It was sent by Zhu Di, King of Yan." Zhu Biao didn't hide anything.

But after hearing that it was Zhu Di, both of them were dumbfounded, "Your Highness, King Yan often cries poorly, saying that Beiping is short of food and clothing. How could he get so much food? Could it be that he embezzled other food?"

Zhu Biao nodded, "It was indeed embezzled, but he embezzled the military rations that Goryeo gave us in advance."

Chapter 754 Mr. Help

Li Shanchang and Xu Da looked at each other, they were both a little unbelievable, did we hear correctly?

Zhu Di misappropriated the military rations given by Goryeo?

"Your Highness, this matter is related to the crusade against Japanese pirates. It is a military and national event, so don't be reckless!"

Xu Da also immediately said: "The imperial court has agreed to use Goryeo to fight against Japanese pirates. If Goryeo is alienated from morality and even turns against Shangguo, I'm afraid the loss outweighs the gain."

One civil and one military, the two important ministers all opposed it, but Zhu Biao expressed that he was emotionally stable and didn't care at all.

"Mr. Li, Wei Guogong, what you said is all reasonable, but the emperor father and Mr. Zhang are both in Beiping. Don't they know what the fourth brother is doing? I thought we should discuss disaster relief in Fujian and continue to check the warehouse. !” Zhu Biao said with a smile.

Xu Da couldn't help but let out a long breath. Although he couldn't understand, wouldn't he be afraid of losing his face if he attacked Gao Li at this time?But Zhu Biao is right, with Zhang Ximeng and Lao Zhu sitting in the town, they must be thoughtful and foolproof.

It's just that this matter is really weird, and I have to ask Zhang Xiang for advice later, what's going on?

Xu Da's confusion is only about the relationship between the two countries, but Li Shanchang is already sweating profusely.

What he said to Xu Da was fallacious, but as a person who has been in power for many years, he is very sure that if he continues to investigate and investigate one or two provinces, the market will be turbulent because of fluctuating people's hearts. , forcing Zhu Biao to stop.

The so-called three fires for a new official, when Zhu Biao stops, he will understand.

No matter who you are, your strength has limits.

Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Ximeng didn't dare to do it, and Zhu Biao couldn't do things that were difficult to do, so he should calm down as soon as possible, be quiet, and just be a successful king.