In the Hongde Hall of the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty was drinking the new spring tea, while looking at today's book, and suddenly turned to a book, his face became gloomy, and he slammed the teacup in his hand.

"The Ministry of Household Affairs has written that the provinces have lost a lot of money, and they have accumulated disadvantages for a long time, and the money and grain that should be handed over have been delayed for a long time...... The local governors are all complaining to me! ”

Below, Ma Qi, the chief Manchurian scholar and concurrently the head of the household department, was sitting on a small stool, he was actually two years older than Kangxi, and now he was sixty-eight years old, his gray braids trembling slightly.

He submitted this notebook, and immediately knelt down and said with a panicked face: "Your Majesty, although this year's examination has been successful, the minister is worried that if it goes on like this, the treasury may not be able to make ends meet, which will damage the prestige of the Holy Monarch." ”

Looking at this Manchu minister, Kangxi's face eased a lot, he understood that there are few Manchu ministers who can help now, but the government and the opposition can't let Hanchen do all the big and small things, otherwise he will not be able to sit still, so for this quite capable Ma Qi, he is also favored, although in the early years, Ma Qi, as the eighth master, was ruthlessly sent down by Kangxi, but after all, Kangxi is really unavailable, so since Kangxi promoted Ma Qi to the position of Hubu Shangshu in the 55th year, he has never moved.

"Hmph, although my Qing Dynasty is now a country and a people's peace, after all, the northwest is using troops, and the grassland departments also need to be appeased, and this matter of money and grain must not be ignored. No matter how sparing you are, it is difficult to continue. Kangxi said slowly, and glanced at Ma Qi lightly.

Ma Qi knelt on the ground, trembling, looking like he was about to pass out, in fact, he lived longer than Kangxi in history, and said in a low voice: "The emperor is the son of the Holy Tomorrow, and he bears the entire Qing Dynasty with his own strength, how can he be a courtier who has wronged his father?" This matter of money and food has been raised by the household department in many ways, and it is not a big problem to think about it. ”

Hearing this answer, Kangxi's face improved a little, and said: "As the saying goes, you see people's hearts for a long time, or you Ma Qi knows my heart well, get up and sit down, and talk about the specific strategy." ”

Ma Qi climbed onto the small stool with some difficulty, stroked his gray beard, and said: "Your Majesty, now that the northwest has been using troops for many years, this Shaanxi and Gansu are originally desolate, and now they are unable to raise it. The Central Plains suffered from a major drought again, and relief was needed between the emergencies, and the south was mostly a land of fish and rice, and there were countless wealthy businessmen, or they could raise more to solve the country's use. ”

At the mention of the south, Kangxi's face was a little gloomy, and he snorted lightly: "Not long ago, the governor of Liangguang said that there were many illegal mines in Liangguang, and said that it was better to block than to be sparse, and the mining profits could not be given to the people, and the mining profits would be returned to the imperial court if the government opened the mines.... As a result, the people's sentiment is also repeated, and there are many bandits and chaos, and now they are raising money and grain in the south, or they can ban the mines? ”

"Your Majesty, the opening of this mine ban can never be opened, the miners are gathered because of the mining profits, but after all, this mine is rootless water, once the mining is finished, the mining profits will be exhausted, the miners have no way to make a living, they will gather people as bandits and do illegal things. Therefore, Lao Chen has always advocated all-out prohibition to prevent future troubles. ”

Kangxi sighed lightly, and said: "The former Ming landlords and gentry opened mines privately, so that there were many hidden dangers in the world, resulting in the overturning of Sheji, and the Qing Dynasty had to prevent this mistake....."

That being said, Kangxi didn't think so, and actually banned local mining, not for other reasons, but to avoid the expansion of local strength.

In the matter of mining, the Qing government and local officials have always urinated in the same pot, and local state and county officials are all thinking about opening mines to expand financial resources, after all, local consumption is really tight, but in this way, it will inevitably cause the governor's power to be too large, which is a situation that Kangxi does not want to see.

Ma Qi's heart is also like a mirror, just what Emperor Kangxi said, is worried that asking for money and grain in the south and the mining ban will be tied together, so he made a tentative speech, as the head of the household, Ma Qi is naturally fully opposed to the mining ban, only the financial resources are all returned to the central government, and he has the confidence to speak as a head of the household.

It can be seen from this section that there has long been a tacit understanding between Emperor Kangxi and Ma Qi, but no one is willing to really pick it up, and if Ma Qi can't afford it, Kangxi will damage the holy name.

Ma Qi sighed in his heart, this is an official, it's better to be confused, but when the emperor speaks, he can't be a clay puppet, so he said softly: "Your Majesty, the mining order is absolutely unacceptable, as for this money and grain, you might as well let the local state and county officials collect money and grain should be collected with the levy, and if you delay in understanding, the prefect will check and report to the department." If the state and county approve the money and grain and the political envoy resists the miscellaneous faction, and the approval is not issued, the county official of the prefecture shall report to the superintendent and report to the ministry and the court. ”

"As for this existing deficit..... The governors can find out the reason, if the prefect jointly favors and causes a deficit, he will participate in the reform, and the prefect will pay for it alone. If the state or county officials make a false statement of shortfall, the superintendent shall refer to the actual inscription, review and make a decision, and recover it under the name of the offender. ”

"If it is a shortfall caused by misappropriation in the course of official duties, the state and county officials shall be dismissed from their posts and retained, and the compensation shall be paid within a limited number of years. Those who have mildew rot in the barn will be repaired within one year, and they will be allowed to recover. If the prefecture or county is short of money and grain, and the prefect reports it but the political envoy does not report it, or if it has been reported but the governor does not report it, the prefect will report to the ministry and the prefect will be punished according to the rules and regulations, and the compensation will still be ordered. Officials of the health center who are short of money and food for the guards and other items shall be punished according to the local regulations. ”

These words are talking about Kangxi's heart, and it can be seen that this chief Manchurian scholar does have a few brushes, and he is worthy of being a good example of the monarch and the minister.

However, Kangxi still didn't think it was enough, and snorted lightly: "Those who do not take precautions against the deficit in the prefecture and county in advance, and do not make up for it afterwards, should be severely punished and ordered to pay compensation." The weight of the resentment against the local governor in his words made Ma Qi's heart chill slightly.

Now this master is about to go crazy for the sake of this eternal holy name! In this way, isn't there a lack of official life in this world?

Thinking of this, Ma Qi also ignored the majesty of the Holy Monarch, and pleaded bitterly: "Your Majesty, this governor represents the imperial court after all..... I still have to save some face! ”

Kangxi began to press step by step, "If it weren't for the fact that I was too tolerant before, how could I be ruthless next time in the sixty years of Yuji?" But if I don't do this, how can the overall situation be at peace? Ma Qi, you are a Manchu nobleman, you should understand how difficult it is for me to get the Qing Dynasty! If you have any concerns, speak up! ”

As soon as these words came out, Ma Qi was helpless, after all, this master was already so straightforward, what is the next ruthlessness of Yuji in sixty years? To put it bluntly, Kangxi himself knows that he doesn't have a few years to live, if he doesn't take this opportunity to brush himself with a few more layers of gold, where will he come from?

Ma Qi sighed in his heart, so he had to kowtow and come out.

After Kangxi looked at Ma Qi and left, he was not in the mood to continue to review the excerpts, and greeted the little eunuch in front of the palace.

"A few days ago, this Zhao family had a cold, but now his health is better??"

"Your Majesty, Zhao Guiren has already handed over the sign, and he has recovered."

"Well, let's take the ride."

"Huh."