I have to say that Brother Yuanzhang did a very, very wrong thing back then, that is, he was too mean to officials and gave too low a salary, which led to a Qing official like Hai Rui, who even had a problem with his basic life.

But the problem is that he also attaches great importance to the imperial examination, the religion of etiquette, agriculture and industry, and insists on the official position since ancient times.

It sounds very contradictory.

As a direct result, officials have supreme power in one hand and empty in the other.

The key is that this Lao Zhu does not treat everyone equally, he is only mean to others, and he is very generous to his own family, and he wants to leave everything to his children and grandchildren.

This is a very obvious mistake.

Under such a system, officials are inevitably prompted to convert the power in their hands into money.

This is why the Ming Dynasty was the most severe dynasty in punishing corrupt officials, but in the end it evolved into no corruption and no officials.

Looking at the fate of those clean officials, who is still willing to be a clean official.

But Guo Dan thinks that there will still be many corrupt officials who give high and low, after all, the desire of human nature is endless, he doesn't have too many ideas about anti-corruption and anti-corruption, he just wants to ensure that his interests are not eroded, he doesn't quite understand Aunt Xu's proposal to kill two birds with one stone, and asked: "What do you mean by this?" ”

Aunt Xu said: "Regarding the governance of the river, in all dynasties, it is a major matter related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and this matter must not be sloppy, because if you are not careful, it will cause endless harm!" ”

Guo Dan nodded and said, "This is also a key reason why I want to take back the river management." ”

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River, as well as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, were almost the lifeblood of the Central Plains Dynasty, and if they were neglected, the consequences would be unimaginable, and the same would be true for commerce.

If you want to get rich, you must first build roads, which is actually true, no country can violate this law.

Aunt Xu asked again, "But will you govern?" ”

Guo Dan shook his head.

Aunt Xu said: "If you want to manage the river well, you need many, many talents, and these talents are by no means those skilled craftsmen, you can't find geniuses in this area among the people, so you can only invite some officials in the court to preside over river affairs." ”

Guo Dan asked, "I don't know who Aunt Xu wants to recommend?" ”

"It's just secondary."

Aunt Xu asked again: "Have you ever thought that since the customs duties are already owned by His Majesty personally, but Your Majesty must send officials to do this, is this considered a public for personal gain?" ”

Guo Dan frowned and said, "This shouldn't be counted, right?" ”

Isn't the emperor's business just a business?

Aunt Xu said with a smile: "If it doesn't count, then why do you have to divide the ministers and the foreign ministers, if the foreign ministers interfere in the harem, it will be a capital crime!" ”

Guo Dan thought about it, shook his head with a smile and said, "I don't know much about this, the layman has the final say." ”

Aunt Xu nodded, accepted it gladly, and said, "I think that if Your Majesty wants to send ministers to control the river, you can send them another copy of the money, so that it can not only be justified, but also help Your Majesty win people's hearts." The ministers who can manage the river well must be some capable ministers and officials, and they will use this part of the money to concentrate this part of the people around His Majesty, and if His Majesty wants to do other things in the future, he will not worry about the lack of talents. ”

Guo Dan's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he smiled: "Wonderful! Wonderful! It's simply the perfect addition. ”

Wanli is going to start anew, how can this man do without talent, if he is surrounded by people like Zhang Whale, it is a very bad thing.

This additional amount of money can also allow some ministers to make a certain degree of division between the court and the imperial court.

To put it more bluntly, it is actually to separate from the bureaucracy, directly serve the emperor, and reduce the constraints of officialdom on some capable officials.

If you can really pick out the talent, it is definitely the perfect complement.

Guo Dan couldn't help asking: "I don't know if there is a suitable candidate for the layman?" ”

Aunt Xu smiled: "The Ministry of Industry is still a scholar Shixing." ”

......

However, when Guo Dan and Aunt Xu were thinking about their next steps, many people were still in shock.

Wanli's holy decree to tax himself really shocked the government and the opposition.

No emperor has done this since ancient times.

The emperor can take out the money to support the treasury, or directly help the people, but there will be no emperor to tax himself, Wanli is really out of the ordinary!

Therefore, no one thought that the emperor would do this, and they would not have thought of giving them another 10,000 chances.

Emperors all want to centralize power, not bound by anything, how can they be willing to restrain themselves, this is really unscientific!

Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, you are the Ninety-Five, how can you tax yourself." Zhang Whale said anxiously: "Your Majesty, this matter is very important, but you can't be rash." ”

He is in charge of the inner government, so he naturally has a say in this matter.

In addition, he is also a big tax-exempt person, if he really has to pay customs duties, it will also make him very uncomfortable, of course he wants to prevent Wanli from doing this.

Wanli snorted: "I don't want to do things, they are willful, I just want to work hard to manage the river, this request can't be overstated." And they use this to squeeze out their henchmen, and even try to calculate against me, if I don't give them a little color, they will ride on my head sooner or later. ”

Zhang Whale hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, they are indeed guilty of ten thousand deaths, but Weichen is thinking about Your Majesty, once this is started, if they want to tax Your Majesty's farmland and your Majesty's pasture, how can it be good?" ”

Wanli frowned slightly, but said with a smile: "Okay! I am not afraid. ”

Come on!

Let's hurt each other and see who is more cruel to us.

Zhang Whale immediately looked stunned, and he felt terrified when he thought about what he had just said.

If it goes on like this, it's really .......!

But Wanli has released such cruel words, which means that there is no room for maneuver in this matter, Zhang Whale can't help but regret it in his heart, he knew that he should have supported the household department to allocate money to the banknote in the first place.

Now it's okay, lift a stone and shoot yourself in the foot.

Back at Dongchang, Li Gao, Liu Shouyou, Xing Shangzhi, Zheng Chengxian and others were already waiting there.

"Governor, how's the situation?"

Li Gao was the first to greet him, and asked with an anxious face.

Zhang Whale shook his head, sat down, and said, "Your Majesty has made up your mind, and it seems that there is no room for maneuver in this matter. ”

Li Gao and others suddenly showed a painful expression.

This is something they find difficult to accept.

Not to mention that they will have to pay taxes in the future, the key is that this privilege is gone, and what they will lose is not only that little bit of tax money, but there is no oil and water to make in it, which is really going to cut off their financial route.

"Nope."

Li Gao shook his head like a rattle, "We have to stop Your Majesty from doing this, this... This is not in accordance with the rules and regulations of the imperial court! ”

Liu Shouyou also nodded and said, "Yes, Duke, we have to find a way to stop Your Majesty from doing this." ”

Zhang Whale naturally knew the seriousness of this matter, and he couldn't help but think about it.

At this moment, a little eunuch walked in and muttered something in Zhang Whale's ear.

Zhang Whale frowned when he heard this, and immediately said angrily: "They are still finished, it really makes no sense." ”

Liu Shouyou hurriedly asked, "Duke, what's going on?" ”

They were already panicking, and they couldn't afford to make any more mistakes!

Zhang Whale said with a stern face: "Ding Jilu, Jiang Yinglan and others plan to petition Your Majesty to request the abolition of everyone's tax exemption rights and the taxation of everyone's farmland and mulberry forests, including Your Majesty." ”

"What?"

Liu Shouyou, Zheng Chengxian and others couldn't help but be shocked.

It's getting bigger and bigger!

"Governor."

Li Gao suddenly said: "If you get it in this way, Your Majesty may take back your life!" ”

Zheng Chengxian also came back to his senses at this time, and said: "Yes, yes, if you pay a tariff, Your Majesty will tax yourself, which is equivalent to changing your left hand for your right hand, of course Your Majesty is willing to do this, but if it is a tax on all farmland and mulberry forests, but the treasury will tax Your Majesty, Your Majesty will never agree, and we can prevent Your Majesty from imposing tariffs on everyone." ”

"What if Your Majesty agrees?"

Zhang Whale asked rhetorically.

"It's unlikely." Xing Shangzhi seemed to be a little unconvinced, with Wanli's personality, how could he be willing to let the imperial court tax him.

"Nothing is impossible." Zhang Whale snorted and said, "To tell you the truth, I just reminded Your Majesty that there will definitely be ministers in the court who will do this, but Your Majesty said that if you want to levy it, you will do it." ”

Li Gao said: "Your Majesty, this is obviously angry words. ”

"Angry talk?"

Zhang Whale was happy and said, "Wu Qinghou, do you still think that Your Majesty is imposing tariffs on you by acting rashly?" Think about it, who is the biggest beneficiary of this, and who dares to guarantee now that His Majesty's ultimate goal is only customs duties, not agricultural taxes? ”

Wanli's recent actions are abnormal, Zhang Whale can't figure out Wanli's routine, he vaguely feels that this may be a trap, but he is not sure, because this matter has developed to this point, and it is natural for Wanli to be angry.

In the final analysis, Wanli just wants the household department to allocate some money to control the river, and not to build a palace for himself, there is really nothing to say about this matter, but the other party wants to use this to hit the cabinet, if Wanli does not want to move the cabinet, then he may do so.

Of course, it is also possible that it has been planned for a long time.

But who dares to gamble on this kind of thing, if the bet is not right, then the entire interest group will be devastated, and the tax exemption of farmland and mulberry fields is almost their root.

In order to control the river, you are not crazy to gamble with Wanli with your life?

"Oops! That's how it can be good. ”

Zheng Chengxian immediately panicked, he had just joined the foreign relatives group, and the damage to him from the tariff was relatively small, if all his farmland and mulberry forests were taxed, then he couldn't stand it.

Zhang Whale immediately said: "We must stop them from doing this, otherwise, this matter may really reach the point of being out of control." ”

Don't think about what Wanli's purpose is, the first thing for now is to save yourself.

They were all already on the edge of the cliff.