"Brother Sheng, I have come all the way, I am really amazed, I didn't expect that today's Shanghai has become so prosperous!"

In the yamen of the Shanghai prefect, Wu Jingzi was sitting opposite the Shanghai prefect Shengqi, with a bit of emotion on his face, and it was obvious that the development of Shanghai had impressed him a little.

The bustling Shanghai wharf, with its endless factories and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is made of cement and steel bars, is almost breathtaking, and almost all of these changes have occurred in the past three years, and they are also the result of his hard work.

Sheng Qi had a slight cautious look on his face, and said softly: "Your Majesty's kindness is as heavy as a mountain, Sheng has to be cautious, and he will never dare to live up to His Majesty's kindness." This time, Brother Wu came to Shanghai on an errand, and Sheng will also fully cooperate. ”

Wu Jingzi hurriedly smiled and nodded, glanced at the white hair on Sheng Qi's forehead, and sighed in his heart, this Sheng Da is only in his forties now, but he already looks a little vicissitudes, and it seems that the life of the Shanghai prefect is not so easy.

As a matter of fact, this time, Wu Jingzi, in his capacity as deputy director of the Executive Yuan's office company, was appointed by the cabinet to conduct all-round investigations, with the aim of being able to popularize Shanghai's development model to the whole country, speed up the development of various localities, and effectively achieve economic growth.

Now everyone knows that the national unification has basically become a foregone conclusion, and the war has gradually begun to turn into a local war, so the development of the economy has become the primary assessment goal, if you want to be promoted and make a fortune, it is necessary to vigorously develop the local economy, especially this year the emperor and the cabinet also intend to promote the tax system, and in the future, local taxation will need to rely more on local hematopoiesis.

When Wu Jingzi thought of this, he sighed a little: "Actually, I don't hide it from Lord Sheng, this year's impeachment of your Excellency by the Metropolitan Procuratorate is largely due to the fact that although the fiscal revenue has increased this year, the fiscal expenditure has been even more excessively doubled, not to mention anything else, for the integration of the north and the south, the imperial court has reached 28 million silver dollars in administrative expenditure alone, so in this case, the relationship between the central and local finances naturally needs to be reorganized." ”

Sheng Qi was not much surprised, in fact, he knew more about the relationship, and couldn't help but sigh softly: "This year's big increase in administrative expenditure is not only due to the integration of the northern provinces, but also the counties and townships in various places are equipped with a large number of officials, and the past officials are included in the financial plan, so as to strictly prevent large-scale corruption at the grassroots level, so that there will naturally be an imagination of a large increase in administrative expenditure." ”

Huaxia is vast and has a large population, which is naturally a manifestation of national strength, but at the same time there is a big problem, the larger the country and the more the population, the higher the requirements for the level of governance, and when the quality of personnel is generally low, it can only be achieved by a large number of grassroots officials, which will increase the burden on the imperial court.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was usually a saying that the imperial power did not go to the countryside, which reflected this problem, because the state did not have so much money to support those grassroots officials, so it could only choose to transfer the grassroots power to the officials and the squires behind them, which was the so-called gentry co-governance.

Of course, after throwing the burden of the grassroots to the gentry class, the imperial court seems to have lightened a lot of burden, but in essence there are many drawbacks, such as the inability to really mobilize the people's strength, and the inability to really establish an efficient political system.

Especially in the context of the large-scale implementation of the new policy in Ningchu and the crackdown on the power of the gentry, it was even more impossible to cede the administrative power at the grassroots level to the gentry, so the only choice was to reform the imperial examination system, expand the bureaucratic group on a large scale, and further disintegrate the gentry class and expand the scope and intensity of the imperial court's rule.

In addition, in order to ensure that officials would not be easily corrupted, Ning Chu could not set the salaries of officials too low, and the methods of being too harsh on officials like Zhu Ming would often only backfire, so after raising the level of officials' salaries to the normal amount, he also added a maintenance bank, which caused the expenses of the entire bureaucracy to become very huge.

At this point, the biggest problem arises, and that is the lack of money.

You must know that Ning Chu spent 24 million silver dollars to support these officials this year, but this amount is not much, because there are still many remote areas that have not yet been fully included in Ning Chu's direct rule, and in another five years, after completely digesting the areas below the county and township levels, Ning Chu's administrative expenses may reach the scale of 60 million silver dollars to 80 million silver dollars.

And this year, under the premise of a large-scale increase in industrial and commercial taxes, Ning Chu's annual income has just reached 63 million silver dollars, and this figure has nearly doubled compared with the Qing court, and it was previously estimated that in another five years, Ning Chu's fiscal revenue can only grow to the level of about 120 million, that is to say, at least half of the money will be used to support the officials of the whole country, and if the army's expenses are deducted, then there will be nothing left.

This is a very dangerous signal, so whether it is Sheng Qi or Wu Jingzi, they can feel the danger contained in it.

Wu Jingzi, as an official who has served in the central government for many years, has a strong political acumen and a deep understanding of finance, and he said in a low voice: "Don't hide it from Brother Sheng, before leaving Beijing, my younger brother and Director Wang of the Ministry of Finance were friends in the same year, and they also had a brief chat together, and I heard that the tax sharing system will be carried out next year at the latest. ”

"Oh? So fast? Sheng Qi had a little worry on his face, and then said softly: "The local economic development of my Dachu provinces is different, but they all need to be equipped with certain officials, such as Shanghai, where the local tax is relatively high, and it can naturally be supported, but the inland, especially in the southwest and northwest regions, has a weak local financial foundation, so I am afraid that it will be difficult to cope." ”

Sheng Qi's words were naturally from the heart, and he was not worried that the implementation of the tax sharing system would have an impact on Shanghai, because under the tax sharing system, a place like Shanghai would theoretically only be richer, especially since he had obtained a large amount of money through the land transfer auction system alone this year, which was also the reason why Emperor Ning Yu appreciated.

Don't engage in any clean and corrupt officials, as long as he can make money and is good at making money, if the process of making money will not cause any trouble, then he is a good official of the first class in the world.

Wu Jingzi then said in a low voice: "Your Majesty thinks that in the national economy and people's livelihood, it is necessary to further refine the tax system, especially after the comprehensive completion of the financial reform, the tax system will have a certain foundation, and then the cabinet and the Ministry of Finance will organize a special tax system reform team, after conducting basic research, will select pilot counties in all provinces of the country, and then adjust according to the results of the pilot." ”

When Sheng Qi heard this, he sighed softly, "That's good, that's good, don't be in a hurry, things will have room to turn around." ”

"Aren't you, Brother Sheng Qisheng, known as an anxious son? I heard that in Shanghai's economic restructuring, your brother took the lead, causing other colleagues in Shanghai to say, "Don't be in a hurry and ask for speed!" ”

Wu Jingzi didn't know where he heard the joke, but he talked and laughed seriously.

Sheng Qi smiled and said meaningfully: "Some things can be urgent, and some things are just afraid of being in a hurry!" Speaking of this, the Western table clock placed above the main hall began to make a sound, and it turned out that the two had been chatting until the afternoon unconsciously.

Sheng Qi hurriedly stood up apologetically, and arched his hand: "If you continue to keep the guests here, but it's not mine, and ask Brother Wu to go back to the house with me, the old wife is good at making first-hand Hangzhou cuisine, and I also invite you, a gourmet, to taste one or two." ”

In the city of Nanjing, Wu Jingzi has always been known for his love of eating, knowing how to eat, and he has a good appreciation for the delicacies of various places.

Wu Jingzi smiled dumbly at the moment, hugged his fists and said: "Since this is the case, then thank Brother Sheng for your kindness, there are still many things for Brother Sheng to ask today!" ”

.......

In the Palace of Cultivating the Heart, dozens of ministers stood on the main hall in a regular manner, with a little expectation on their faces, as if they were waiting for something, but it seemed to be a little different from waiting for the emperor in the past, and there was still a little nervousness in the expectation.

After a long while, there was finally a sound of footsteps from outside the hall, it was His Majesty Ning Yu of the current Great Chu, who led a child slowly into the hall with a smile on his face, and behind him, there were many female officials.

"I've seen Your Majesty, I've seen His Royal Highness the Great Prince."

When the ministers saw that the emperor had arrived, they hurriedly bowed their hands, and from time to time peeked at the children standing on the ground.

Everyone knows that Ning Chengze, the eldest son of the emperor, was born in response to the mandate of heaven, especially when he was just born, he tried the cowpox method with the noble bloodline of the heavenly family, and then this method spread all over the world, which can be said to have saved countless children, so in today's folk, many people are grateful to Dade, and most of them think that the emperor's eldest son Ning Chengze will inherit the heir of the Great Chu Sect in the future and become the monarch of the world.

And now the cowpox law has been implemented for more than four years, and the emperor's eldest son Ning Chengze has also reached the age of five years old, although he rarely appears in front of the world, but I heard that he is very intelligent, and he has received enlightenment education in the palace early, so this time he appeared in front of the courtiers, obviously to find him a real teacher.

You must know that Ning Chengze is very likely to become the crown prince in the future, and even become the emperor's candidate, after all, there are not many heirs under Ning Yu's command at the moment, in addition to Ning Chengze, it is Ning Chengyi, the son of Concubine Chen, and Ning Xuan, the daughter who has just given birth, of course, the emperor is still young, and it is possible to have ten or eight more in the future, but they are difficult to compare with Ning Chengze after all, so Ning Chengze is far ahead in the battle for the prince today.

In this case, if you become Ning Chengze's teacher first, it is possible to become the prince's teacher in the future, so as to enter the prince's mansion, and won't it become a natural thing to enter the cabinet in the future?

Although based on Ning Yu's current age, Ning Chengze will need at least forty or fifty years to succeed to the throne, and they can't enjoy the taste of being an emperor at all, but their protégé is young, and if they can be valued by the emperor, it is also a very good opportunity.

Seeing that the ministers' eyes were getting hotter and hotter when they looked at Ning Chengze, Ning Yu smiled slightly and said, "Part of the reason why I summoned you here today is for Chengze - but it's not to find a teacher for him." ”

What the? Not looking for a teacher?

The ministers were suddenly a little strange, but the first assistant Cui Wancai still knew the emperor better, and immediately asked: "Your Majesty, dare to ask the eldest prince if he wants to study?" ”

Ning Yu nodded lightly and said, "That's right, the eldest prince is going to prepare for school, but not to learn the old school, but to learn the new, I decided to open a royal school, a school specifically for the education of the children of meritorious lords." ”

Everyone looked at each other, since the Ningchu education reform, it has been divided into two parts in terms of education, one part is naturally the past set, which is called the old school, and the set after the education reform is called the new school, which is in the stage of thriving growth - the two sides are naturally in a life-and-death relationship, and they have been fighting each other for a long time.

In fact, since the reform of education and the reform of the imperial examination, the students of the old school have launched a rebellion under the pretext of the reason, and later they were solved by Ning Yu by drastic means, and although the disputes on the surface have disappeared, they are still strangled with each other behind the scenes.

Of course, although Xinxue has just started, after all, it has the strong support of the emperor, so the current situation is not bad, many noble families will arrange for their children to study Xinxue, participate in the imperial examination, coupled with the establishment of major colleges, so that Xinxue is in a state of blooming everywhere.

However, the previous development of the new school, after all, was still oriented to the public, and now the Imperial City Public School mentioned by Ning Yu is really aimed at the heirs of the empire and even the imperial nobles, which makes the ministers who support the old school a little worried - in the long run, won't the old school be completely suppressed?

Lin Haiyan, the right attendant of the Ministry of Education, stood up, with a little anxiety on his face, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this move seems to be inconsistent with the old practice, the way of sage education, when teaching according to aptitude, the great prince is talented, and he should select the great sage for education, if it is put into the school, I am afraid that it will be lost to everyone." ”

After hearing this, the ministers immediately nodded their heads, and what they said was orderly, after all, how could the prince's education be casual? Not to mention that the eldest prince is not the future prince, so he should teach him according to his aptitude, and mix with other people, can he teach a good emperor?

Seeing that everyone agreed, Ning Yu glanced at everyone and couldn't help but snort coldly.

"Pedanty, this set of yours has long been outdated!"