Dongjiang Rice Lane, Hubu Yamen.

At the invitation of Wu Shan, senior officials such as Guo Pu, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Yan Ne, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Zhang Yongming, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Lei Li, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and Zuodu Yushi Fanen were present one after another.

Although these nine ministers are collectively referred to as the Six Ministries and Nine Secretaries, they often do not refer to themselves as the Six Ministries or the Nine Secretaries.

The secretary of the ministry has the power to promote the hundred officials, and even can argue with the first assistant, so he usually considers himself the secretary of the department; Due to the background of the ministers, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites is often only one step away from entering the cabinet, so he also disdains the name of the six departments; Only those like the Ministry of Industry and the Criminal Department will call themselves six.

Although the imperial history of the left capital of the Imperial Court does not belong to the six departments, but the status is in the Dali Temple and the general political envoy, so it calls itself the Seven Qing to the outside world, and only the Dali Temple Qing and the general political envoy will call themselves Jiuqing with a hot face and a cold ass.

This is essentially the big Jiuqing, and the small Jiuqing is the Taichang Temple, the Taifu Temple, the Guanglu Temple, the Zhan Shi, the Hanlin Bachelor, the Honglu Temple, the Guozi Priest Wine, the Yuanma Temple, and the Shangbao Siqing.

However, there is never a fixed distinction between high and low official positions, and they are often viewed in combination with various factors, and the situation is often more complicated.

It is said that Guo Pu, the secretary of the ministry, is respected, but Wu Shan, the secretary of the household department, has stronger qualifications and prestige than him, and Yan Ne, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, has the support of Xu Jie, so these three really have their own merits.

These nine members of the court gathered in the hall to discuss the matter of financial management in accordance with the holy decree.

Wu Shan is the prince and the initiator of this meeting, plus his background and qualifications, he is already qualified to sit on the first seat.

Due to the fact that the saints are obsessed with occult cultivation and do not want to be disturbed by any nuisance, these things, which should have been discussed in the court meeting and the emperor, have to be held in the ceremonial hall at this moment.

It's just that today's saints are unreliable, but the courtiers below still have to behave properly, and everything must be in order.

But I saw Wu Shan, who was wearing a first-class official uniform, asked people to put on the incense case, read the holy decree aloud, and then put it on the high case, and then led the officials to bow.

After this ceremony was completed, Wu Shan asked people to bring tea, and then said aloud to everyone: "This official is in accordance with the emperor's will to discuss financial matters with you, and please speak freely!" ”

When everyone heard this, it was you who looked at me and I looked at you, but the whole hall suddenly fell silent.

Guo Pu is a secretary of the ministry, and he is deeply favored by the emperor, even if the emperor wants to blame, it is not his turn, so he sits there and drinks tea quietly.

When Zhang Yongming first came to Chadao, he also knew that more things are better than less, and he had just arrived, and it was impossible for the board to suddenly hit him, so it was also a matter of concern.

Yang Bo and Fan En are both old men in the officialdom, and they know the truth of shooting the first bird with a gun, and they are holding a tea cup like an old monk.

None of the others chose to speak rashly, and the people who were able to get into this position were not stupid, and they all knew that these things were thankless.

If things were really so easy to solve, Daming's finances would not have fallen to such a point. At the moment, it is extremely difficult to get money from where or which party's interests are involved, and it will even offend people.

Wu Shan looked at everyone present silently, although he had long expected this situation, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The people present were all familiar with the books of sages and sages, and they were loyal and patriotic on weekdays, and when the country needed them, they all became turtles with shrunken heads.

After secretly discussing, he turned his attention to Yan Ne, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and said: "Yan Butang, you have always been erudite and talented, and in the past, a famous Beijing teacher of "Gathering Wealth", please speak freely this time!" ”

Everyone looked at Yan Ne, this one has the favor of the emperor, and to some extent, he can represent Xu Jie, and it is indeed appropriate for him to take the lead in speaking.

"Wu Shangshu praised it! The lower official has something unclear, please tell me! Yan Ne humbly saluted, and then answered the question.

Wu Shan wanted everyone to speak freely today, and immediately smiled at Yan Ne's gaze and said, "But it's okay to say it!" ”

Guo Pu and the others were also puzzled, and they all looked at Yan Ne, not knowing which one this Yan Mazi was going to sing.

Yan Ne met everyone's curious gaze and asked suspiciously, "Wu Shangshu, isn't this just a summer grain transported to Jingshi?" Why can't you build the Pure Heart Temple? ”

Wu Shanhu glanced at Yan Ne suspiciously, and sighed lightly: "The salary of the soldiers on the nine sides has been delayed to this day, and it is already imminent!" Although the first batch of summer grain arrived in Beijing, all of them had to be transported to Xuanfu, otherwise the frontier would be uneasy! ”

When answering this, Wu Shan's heart was full of doubts. This matter is no longer a secret, and it is impossible for Yan Ne, who is wearing a pair of pants with Xu Jie, not to know about it, but I don't know why Yan Ne suddenly asked knowingly.

It was only in the next second that he knew what was going on, and Zuodu Yushi Fanen immediately complained: "This soldier's salary will cost hundreds of thousands, so it's really time to save a province!" ”

"Lord Zongxian's words are very good, although the salary of soldiers is related to the peace of northern Xinjiang, but there are many shortcomings in the border army today, and the finances of the imperial court are not abundant, so they should not be wasted!" Yan Ne immediately echoed the tunnel.

Guo Pu and the others glanced at Yan Ne and Fan En thoughtfully, and watched the two of them sing and sing, knowing that these two people were prepared.

Looking at the court today, whether it is the grain tax or the salt tax, it can no longer be increased. As for the whimsical opening of silver mines, it has long been proven that it is impossible to do. If you insist on making a fuss about income, you will inevitably offend others, and even end up with a bad reputation.

This financial management is actually working "saving". It is undoubtedly the most effective way to deduct the rice of the sect, but this kind of thing cannot be put on the table. It is also not appropriate to mention the expenses of officials, the expenditure of water conservancy projects, and the expenses of the court. As for the proposal that the emperor reduce the cost of building the Taoist family, no one dared to joke about his black yarn hat.

No one thought that in the face of the emperor's problem, Xu Dang planned to make a fuss about the issue of soldiers' salaries.

"Soldiers' salaries are related to the stability of the frontier, do you really want the lives of the Ming Dynasty to be ruined?" Yang Bo, the secretary of the military department, objected.

Yang Bo, a native of Shanxi, a Jinshi in Jiajing for eight years, was twenty years old, and he can be said to be young and ambitious. Initially appointed as the county of Xuan, transferred to Chang'an, and then was recruited to serve as the director of the Ministry of War's arsenal Qing Officials Division, and then served as the Ministry of War's staff Qing Officials Shi Langzhong, transferred to Shandong to learn the deputy envoy, transferred to the governor of grain and politics, and then to the right to the imperial history of the governor of Gansu, after returning from mourning was awarded the military affairs of the right Lang Governor of the Ministry of War, and then transferred to the Left Governor of the Ministry of War, Ji Liao, returned to the Dynasty to serve as the Governor of the Ministry of War, and then transferred to the Governor of Ji Liao, returned to the Dynasty to serve as the Governor of the Ministry of War, and was crowned the prince and the prince.

Although Yang Bo is only in his fifties, he is already an old qualification in the officialdom, and he has more qualifications than many people present, especially in the military department, which has an unparalleled prestige.

At that moment, Xu Dang wanted to think about the soldiers' salaries, and his face immediately tightened, and he looked at Yan Ne and Fan En angrily.

"Yang Shangshu, please don't be impatient!" Yan Ne naturally didn't want to have a conflict with Yang Bo, so he immediately said with relief.

Fan En's qualifications are the oldest, and he said seriously with a straight face: "We didn't say that we wouldn't abide by it, but now the border army is full of ills, and the emperor can't even squeeze out the money to repair the Qingxin Palace, shouldn't the military department make a contribution?" In other words, the military department is your Yang Weiyue's territory, and the imperial court can't rectify it? ”

These words not only moved out of the emperor, but also took out the righteousness, even if Yang Bo blushed and hurriedly denied it.

It's just that he understands in his psychology that if the imperial court really wants to rectify the ills of the border army, this is undoubtedly a good thing. However, the starting point at the moment is to reduce the salaries of the border troops, and no matter what means are used, what is actually reduced is the combat effectiveness of the border army.

It is said that Hu Zongxian is a generation of military gods, but he doesn't think so. If it weren't for the fact that Hu Zongxian had received Yan Song's support and allocated a large amount of military funds and military funds to Hu Zongxian, how could Hu Zongxian have the ability to exterminate the southeastern Japanese invaders.

At present, the salaries of the border army are reduced, not to mention to recover the Hetao, and in the face of the Mongol army, they can only defend the city and protect themselves.

Lei Li, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, frowned slightly, and immediately objected: "This official has never served in the Ministry of War, but now the Mongolian cavalry has repeatedly violated the border and looted and plundered the border people every year. ”

"Since you are not from the army, you don't want to talk about the affairs of the army, so you don't have to laugh and be generous!" Fan Endang even said-for-tat, and then eloquently said: "The imperial court allocates millions of soldiers to the nine sides every year, but the annual defense line is like a fictitious one. Taizu said: I raise millions of soldiers, and it doesn't cost a grain of millet to the people. Now the soldiers of the Nine Sides are all lazy in the imperial court, absorbing the marrow of the people, how can they not correct it? ”

The voice is not loud, but it seems to be full of energy, and the expression is also well-matched, like a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

At the end of the day, Fan En looked at the hall with affection, but unfortunately he was destined to be disappointed, and there was only the holy decree and not Jiajing.

As soon as the words fell, Dali Siqing and Zuo Tong's political envoy nodded again and again and agreed: "This is good, our Taizu has created a military camp for self-sufficiency, how to make the imperial court spend millions of taels of military salaries every year to allocate to the nine sides, and this military salary will indeed be reduced!" ”

Lei Li's brow furrowed slightly, but in the end he didn't say anything.

But it was not that he recognized the other party's point of view, but that he suddenly understood that this court was already surnamed Xu and not Yan, and that he, the remnant of the Yan party, was destined to be liquidated, and his views were destined not to be adopted.

Not to mention the situation of the border army, it is a common practice for the court to allocate military salaries to the border army, and in order to achieve the goal of deducting military salaries, these people are simply talking nonsense here.

This military camp has already existed in name only, and those military camps have long been occupied by nobles and gentry. In the past, the great eunuch Liu Jin wanted to reorganize the military camp, but he was attacked by hundreds of officials, and finally punished Ling Chi for rebellion.

Now, Fan En even dares to mention the self-sufficiency of the military tun, why don't you learn from Liu Jin's proposal to reorganize the military tun and return those occupied military tuns to the military households?

It's just that Lei Li knows very well in his heart that this court has long been rotten to the roots, and he can't wake up a group of people who are pretending to be asleep, and these ministers are all bent on sacrificing the border defense forces of the nine sides in order to curry favor with the emperor.

"How are you going to put things in order?" Yang Bo controlled his emotions and asked with a straight face.

Obviously, he had chosen to make concessions, after all, Yan Ne and Fan En represented Xu Jie's will to a certain extent.

Fan En exchanged glances with Yan Ne, and Yan Ne smiled and said, "Yang Shangshu, please rest assured!" I only hope that I can punish some generals who are greedy for ink, and at the same time, the border army can no longer be moved frequently, so as to save some money and food for the imperial court, and use all the money and food on the blade. ”

Hey?

Guo Pu, the secretary of the ministry, did not expect that the Xu Party would purge the generals of the border army, and out of sensitivity to personnel changes, he immediately looked at Yang Bo thoughtfully, and even smelled a hint of conspiracy.

Yang Bo's face didn't have any expression, but he said as if he was angry: "Caoyun's Hegongyin is too big, and this should also be saved!" ”

As soon as the words fell, Yan Ne and the others looked at Guo Pu with their eyes, after all, the new governor of Caoyun was his person.

"This official is in favor! It's just that the number of grains in this stockpile is not clear, and now that the summer grain has been harvested, should we count them? Guo Pu nodded lightly, but the conversation changed.

Wu Shan, who was sitting in the first seat, drank tea silently, listening to these guys express their opinions, they were all guys who didn't say a word just now, and they all came prepared.

It's just that he also knows that if it weren't for the dispute, there would be a conflict of interest. No one will be silent, and no one will easily do anything that offends others.

I have to admit that the people in the current court are trying their best to protect their own interests, and they have long forgotten the poor people of the Ming Dynasty, and they have also forgotten the original intention of studying as officials.

Yan Ne and others seemed to have a tacit understanding, and reached a consensus on the matter of saving soldiers' salaries, mainly because of the military salaries in the border towns and the exposed problems such as the generals who fraudulently received and deducted military salaries, and frequently dispatched border troops.

The proposals on prudent deployment, horse grazing, and grain clearance were passed, and the entire financial management meeting soon came to an end.

Obviously, the simplest and most effective way is to persuade the emperor to stop building the Qingxin Palace, but no one said a word.

The matter was undoubtedly finalized in this way, and then the plan was presented to the emperor in exchange for the emperor's favor.

If there are no accidents, things are in line with history. Faced with the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty, the courtiers met Jiajingxing's request to repair the Qingxin Palace at the cost of weakening the strength of the border army.

In the face of the financial crisis of the imperial court, the courtiers still tore down the east wall and made up the west wall to tide over the difficulties, and at the same time let the Ming Dynasty take another step towards the abyss.

Just when everyone thought it was over and was about to leave, Wu Shan, who had been silent, coughed lightly.

At this time, everyone suddenly realized that Wu Shan was sitting quietly on one side, and almost never spoke except after provoking the words.

It's just that Fan En and the others looked at Wu Shan in confusion, this time the problem has been solved, all parties have made a compromise of interests, and this solution is perfect, why should Wu Shan be involved.

Wu Shan met everyone's puzzled eyes, but picked up the teacup and asked calmly: "Finance is not only throttling, but also needs to be open source, what do you think?" ”

Yan Ne and the others looked at each other, this is undoubtedly a very clear reason, they all nodded cooperatively, and Fan En asked directly: "Wu Shangshu, do you have a strategy to make money?" ”

"Not bad! Can you listen to what this official has to say? Wu Shan took a sip of tea and looked up at the crowd who were about to get up and leave with a smile.

Yan Ne was faintly uneasy, but Guo Pu had a premonition that something was happening, and everyone sat down calmly, once again focusing on Wu Shan, who had a good reputation.

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