First Minister of Ming Dynasty

First Minister Section 515

Li Jinglong was young and didn't know how deep the water was, so he could only bite the bullet and rush forward.

Fang Xiaoru will discuss with him for a while, and everything should be done according to the court's law.

As long as we have the law of the Ming Dynasty and the law to support us, we will have nothing to fear!

These two people, one civil and one military, joined together and turned Beiping upside down.

Because, anyone who knows a little bit of rules will understand that the most helpless thing is this kind of stupid young man who upholds the laws of the country and is not stingy.

They don't say anything, they don't say anything about the world, they just act in accordance with the laws of the country, and they are very difficult to deal with.

Of course, under normal circumstances, this kind of person will not hold great power, and a little movement can smooth them out without causing any disturbances.

But these two people can't do it. Fang Xiaoru is the tax official appointed by Zhu Di, Li Jinglong is the son of Li Wenzhong, and the grandson of Dazongzheng Li Zhen.

Dare to attack these two people, that is impatient to live.

And the most terrible thing, there is a great god in Beiping city!

That's right, from the beginning to the end, Zhang Ximeng didn't express his opinion. He just patiently became his own teacher and went to the school to teach every day, rain or shine.

Zhang Ximeng's no movement is the biggest movement.

Now it's just Fang Xiaoru and Li Jinglong, if Zhang Xianggong is angered, this matter will really get out of hand.

Those guys who have been made to live and die, dare not come to Zhang Ximeng because of fear, there is no one else.

Of course, it's impossible for Zhang Ximeng to really not know.He took the time to call the Chief of the Palace, Shi Gecheng, over.

This is Empress Ma's confidant, not only Yan Wangfu, but the whole Beiping, he is well aware of it.

"Is this tax evasion really so serious? Is it bad intentions, or old habits die hard?" Zhang Ximeng asked lightly.

Ge Cheng lowered his head slightly, very humble.

"Master Zhang, it's not easy to talk about."

"It's hard to say, what does this mean?"

Ge Cheng said again: "It's hard to say. In the past, although there was a tax department in terms of commercial taxation, Mr. Zhang was very clear about their situation. Except for some big taxes, such as mines, customs duties, and salt taxes, There are also some things that the imperial court monopolizes, but in other respects, they can't control it at all."

Ge Cheng continued: "Here in Beiping, due to the special situation, some court decrees have not been implemented. Over time, there are many things that are difficult to explain...For example, every time an official arrives in Beiping, he will bring some Bring the goods when you come, sell them in the market, buy some more when you leave, and sell them when you return to Yingtian, and there will be hundreds of thousands of profits every time you go back and forth."

Zhang Ximeng nodded, "I understand now that officials have to carry official documents with them to salute, and decorate things casually, so that outsiders can't see them, and it's not easy to search casually... But like this time, Zongzheng Temple has made a lot of things all at once. Wanguan's goods are really over."

Ge Cheng smiled wryly and said: "Master Zhang, it's fine if someone brings ten bolts of silk, but someone brings a hundred. If a hundred is not enough, there will be a thousand, ten thousand! There is nothing wrong with people's lack of heart!"

Zhang Ximeng said: "That's why the laws of the country must be strict, and there must be no gaps. An embankment of a thousand miles will be destroyed by an ant's nest!"

Ge Cheng paused for a moment, and then said: "Mr. Zhang, there is another layer... In fact, carrying some goods and avoiding taxes can only be regarded as a small means. There are too many purchases and money exchanges, which do not go through the bank at all. It made it difficult for the court to track down... I didn't say anything about corruption and perverting the law. As long as it took two months from Yingtian to Peiping, I had [-] coins in hand and handed them over to the bank to lend them money. Tens of thousands of things. On the surface, it seems that the money has not changed, but in the dark it has long been different. "

When Ge Cheng said this, he was heartbroken and helpless.

Zhang Ximeng sighed slightly, feeling a little helpless.

At the beginning, he formulated very detailed regulations to prevent disadvantages.

In Huaixi, everything was executed thoroughly.

However, as the territory became larger and the situation more and more complicated, some effective strategies were gradually abandoned.There are still some who have not given up, but have become a dead letter.

For example, Zhang Ximeng required that all commercial activities must go through the grain bank.

Therefore, as long as the food bank is pinched, business taxes will not be difficult to collect.

But today, has anyone mentioned food banks?

Gone!

Why is it gone?

Because the officials have repeatedly said that the food bank adopts a method of storing grain with interest to absorb grain.The imperial court kept food for the common people and gave them more.

The imperial court suffered too much, and the place was so big, it was too troublesome to build warehouses and check the quantity of grain.

What's more, there are Changping warehouses, warehouses all over the country, which can completely replace food banks.

Old Zhu didn't listen to their nonsense, but with the peace in the world, people don't regard food as life so much... and the Ministry of Households has reduced the interest rate of food banks to 5.00%, which is far lower than the [-]% of ordinary banks.

That being the case, it's good to save money, but what's the point of saving food?

The successful model of food banks is gradually being abandoned.

In the past, Zhang Ximeng advocated that all account transactions must go through the bank, whether it is the government office or merchants from various places... As a result, this item has been delayed, and the excuse is that things are cumbersome.

Anyway, in these matters, court officials always have a flexible moral bottom line.

For some matters, such as those related to the land equalization, Zhang Ximeng could fight with reason, but for some matters that might not be properly implemented, Zhang Ximeng could not fight for them.

The majestic Mr. Zhang, can't spend all day mingling with the subordinates over trivial matters... In fact, Lao Zhu is also facing the same situation. If he doesn't take action, some things are indeed getting worse. .

In fact, Lao Zhu is also very difficult. The method he chose was to train Jin Yiwei, using Mao Xiang and others as eagle dogs to deal with this complicated court situation.

Obviously, Jinyiwei is not a perfect tool, so Zhang Ximeng focused on Zhu Di.

He accepted Zhu Di as his apprentice, not because he was idle, or to invest in the future Emperor Yongle!

Nothing like that, with Mr. Zhang, do you still want Jing Nan?

You want to fart!

What Zhang Ximeng hopes is to build a team around Zhu Di that is completely different from Yingtian's group, like Fang Xiaoru, who will go forward without fear.

When there are enough such people, it is time to completely reform the government.

It's just that Zhang Ximeng seems to have underestimated the strength of the Jingnan Four Heavenly Kings.

It took Fang Xiaoru less than ten days to arrest more than 1000 people, completely filling one of Zhu Di's barracks.

And here, there are people from the Yan Palace!

"What's going on?" Zhu Di cursed after returning from hunting, "Why did you arrest even our people? Fang Xiaoru lost his head?"

Ge Cheng had no choice but to say, "Your Highness, Fang Xiaoru said that in the future, we will also use bank accounts for the purchases of Yan Palace, and we cannot buy or sell in private, so as to avoid tax evasion."

Zhu Di was stunned for a long time, touched his nose, and said helplessly: "Then please Mr. Ge, please go and hand over the accounts of the palace to Fang Xiaoru! I, Zhu Di, can't do what he says!"

Now it was Ge Cheng's turn to be dumbfounded, His Highness has such a heart?

Seeing that Ge Cheng was stunned.

Zhu Di became anxious, and roared angrily: "Don't you understand? I have offended Zongzheng Temple. If Yanwangfu is an exception, Zongzhengsi must abide by the rules. My Yanwangfu is bigger than the palace? You don't want to harm me!"

Chapter 716 The Navy is Rampant

Years of trouble-making experience told Zhu Di that some things don't matter, if you get beaten up, the next day will pass.There is nothing to be afraid of, but some things are untouchable.For example, the second child and the third child listened to the encouragement of those Hanlin masters and started playing the trick of fighting for the heir.

In the end, not only the second and third children were unlucky, but these masters were also letting horses in Beiping!

That's the lesson.

Similarly, since it has been decided to levy business taxes and support school expenses, it must be upright and impartial, and there must be no two faces.

Otherwise, the gods all over the world would be able to tear themselves apart.

Zhu Di could think clearly, but Ge Cheng admired and even admired him.At such a young age, it is already very good to be able to understand this level of truth, and it is even more gratifying to be able to practice it, to break it when it is necessary, without hesitation.

There is something extraordinary about this fourth son of the emperor.

Ge Cheng already had complete accounts in hand, and things went smoothly.He opened an account at Beiping Bank. From now on, all money transactions in the palace will be brought under the supervision of the Tax Department.

Now there are two systems in Beiping. One is Zhu Di's left-behind division, which controls the three divisions of the chief envoy, the inspector, and the commander.

Zhu Di newly established a tax department, which was attached to the chief envoy.But in fact, it is directly under the management of the left-behind department. To put it bluntly, it is a sharp sword in Zhu Di's hand.

Fang Xiaoru and the others are all officials of the taxation department. When Yan Wangfu also began to obey the arrangement, the entire market in Beiping was shocked.

Who doesn't know that Zhu Di's "Xiong" name spreads far and wide. Among the princes, he is bold, arrogant and domineering.

With Zhu Di taking the lead, the affairs of Fang Xiaoru and others became much easier for a while.

In a short period of time, more than 150 million yuan in taxes was recovered, and a huge sum of 350 million yuan was forced into the bank account and subject to supervision and management.

If you can manage it, you will naturally be able to collect taxes.

According to the most conservative estimate, this toss can also increase Beiping's tax revenue by more than five times.

Every three days, Fang Xiaoru and others would compile a batch of bills and send them to Zhu Di.

And Zhu Di's happiness has also become simpler... This is 20 guan, which can be used to order school uniforms, and give each student a set of woolen clothes, which will be embroidered on the Peking University Hall in the style of mandarin ducks and battle jackets in the army. typeface.

This sum of 18 guan can roughly provide extra meals for students. It is not easy to have meat for meals!

By the way, there is also hiring a famous teacher, which is the top priority.

Why don't we take out an open space and build houses for them?

Just build that kind of small courtyard with a garden, where you can grow vegetables and flowers, enjoy the coolness and drink tea.

What kind of study room, tea room, etc. must be available. Such a house, including the furniture and decorations inside, is estimated to cost tens of thousands of guan. If one hundred famous teachers are hired, it will be 100 million guan!

Moreover, their salaries are also very high. All in all, one person per year costs [-] guan...

Zhu Di recalled Zhang Shuning's reminder again, like Xia Zhifeng, who studies astronomy and calculates various data. A telescope alone costs tens of thousands, not to mention those special measuring tools.

This is the case for one person, and if there are several more, the expenses will be terrifying.

There are also physics and chemistry... It is said that these things also cost money, and the materials they need are often more expensive than gold of the same weight!

Count it, count it, Zhu Di couldn't laugh anymore.

Because it is very likely that Zhang Ximeng was being polite on the first day of school, and he was far from telling the whole story... If Zhang Ximeng told all the expenses of running the school, Zhu Di might explode in place!Can't make it through today!

But since I have chosen this path, I have to grit my teeth and go on... first check the business tax, and then harm Korea and Jurchen if it doesn't work, anyway, I have to squeeze out the money no matter what!

I want people to know that what Zhu Di wants to accomplish must be accomplished!

A real man promises a lot, keeps his promises, and acts resolutely... No one can stop me, Zhu Di!

In order to run the school, Zhu Di has already ordered the palace to reduce the food for each meal to two dishes, one meat and one vegetable is enough... The expenses are too big, life is difficult, and it is not easy.

Just as Zhu Di was sighing, Lian Zining hurried over from Tongzhou in a panic.

He met Fang Xiaoru first.

"Sir is this?"

Lian Zining wiped the sweat off his forehead, and said eagerly: "It's not me, it's Qi Tai, something happened to him!"

Fang Xiaoru hurriedly said, "What's the matter? Is it urgent?"

Lian Zining said: "Not only is it urgent, but there is also danger... Qi Tai checked the taxes and found a fleet from Korea. After asking, it was from the navy. He wanted to board the ship for inspection. As a result, after being invited up, it has not come down, until now, it has been almost two days!"

When Fang Xiaoru heard it, it was fresh. Is there no law in the Ming Dynasty?

People from the navy actually detained the officials of the Beiping Taxation Department for more than two days!

"Mr. Lian, Mr. Qi is in crisis now, we should send someone to rescue him."

Lian Zining nodded and said, "Indeed, I'm here to see King Yan!"

The two came to meet Zhu Di together, and Zhu Di was startled when he heard the word Navy Master. Lian Zining observed Zhu Di's hesitation and found out that this bearish King Yan also had some fears?

"Your Highness, we are still more than 200 miles away from Dagukou. Qi Tai has been detained for more than two days. If he goes late, I'm afraid something will happen to him!"

Only then did Zhu Di shake his head, "Okay, give the order immediately, mobilize troops and horses, follow me, and go to Dagukou to save people!"

Lian Zining and Fang Xiaoru went to deliver the order, while Zhu Di sat there, meditating briefly.

It stands to reason that he is not afraid of Zongzheng Temple, it is just a mere naval division, so there is nothing special about it.

But Zhu Di is not stupid, he vaguely remembers that Lan Yu once mentioned that Daming's navy started from Chaohu, and the Chaohu navy was decided by the Yu family and the Liao family.

Although Fang Guozhen surrendered later, he was the overlord after all, and he couldn't integrate into the core of the Daming Navy.

After all the calculations, the navy is still dominated by these two families.

Moreover, when Tang Shengzong and Lu Zhongheng were killed, the navy was also implicated in that case, but only some ordinary generals were dealt with, and the core was not touched.

There are also rumors that the navy is Zhang Ximeng's private land, and no one dares to touch Mr. Zhang.

But Lan Yu told Zhu Di that Zhang Ximeng didn't care about the navy at all, or that what Zhang Xiang cared about was not the navy, but overseas interests. However, the development of the navy in the Ming Dynasty was slow, and it was far inferior to the fact that the land was full of stars and talented people came out in large numbers ...

Although Zhu Di couldn't tell what was going on here, he had a vague feeling that something might happen this time.

He thought over and over again, and just before leaving, he called Hua Wei and told him to go to the school and tell Mr. Zhang after Zhang Xiang gave a lecture.