The news of the sale of Ruyi beans soon spread, and the question about the price also came out.

Of course, in addition to the price itself, everyone is concerned about the matter of Guozhang's words. And the news is still very detailed, with specific experiences:

His Majesty didn't know the price of grain outside, and because it was sold by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he called the abbot to the palace and asked what the abbot meant.

So Guozhang said his attitude, thinking that everyone should buy less at a high price, so that more people can buy it, after all, the number of Ruyi beans is limited.

His Majesty agreed to the advice of the Ruler. The price of Ruyi beans is also set at 30 taels per stone, which can be said to be a very high price.

After this price came out, it can be said that there was a lot of scolding among the Jingshi, and all the spearheads were aimed at the national abbot. This is true of both the imperial relatives and the scholars of the current dynasty.

Of course, you can't say it explicitly. After all, the banner of the country is to benefit more people, and you can't say that this is wrong.

However, the question of impeachment of the national abbot has also increased rapidly for a while. Obviously, there are more and more people who are dissatisfied with him, and they feel that the prince is pampered and arrogant, which can't help but remind people of Emperor Hongzhi.

At that time, Emperor Hongzhi was the sole favor of Empress Zhang, and as a result, Empress Zhang's maiden brother can be said to be very arrogant.

Especially now, His Majesty has also crowned the two brothers of the queen mother as the same knowledge of Jinyiwei, which makes the ministers even more worried, so there are more people who impeach them.

In the West Garden.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the question book in front of him, all of which impeached Zhang Guoji. He smiled and tossed it aside, not intending to read it at all, because the questions were all about unrealistic things.

In Zhu Youxiao's eyes, money is really important, because he is running out of money.

During this period of time, I have been burning money, the Baigongyuan and Qi Jin's training are all big money-burners, and all the money burned is the money in their own treasury, and they are about to burn it.

What's more, a batch of rewards were sent to Liaodong before, and the money from the inner treasury was also used.

As for the money in the treasury, Zhu Youxiao didn't think about it at all. It's not because I think the courtiers will oppose it, with the degree of control over the court now, basically there won't be much problem in using it on the right path.

The problem is that the treasury has no money, and with the current income of the Ming Dynasty, there is no way to fill the treasury at all.

Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs has begun to make money, there is no actual income, but a lot of money has been invested in the early stage, so Zhu Youxiao is going to have no money.

This time selling Ruyi beans, you can collect 1 million taels to solve a big problem.

Zhu Youxiao sighed a little helplessly, he was really a poor emperor.

The Baigong Institute has to manufacture flintlock pistols on a large scale, and the investment is a large amount. Although the technology of the Baigong Institute has been innovated, the cost of a flintlock pistol is still as high as 20 taels of silver, which is not counting other matches.

If 100,000 pieces were produced, it would take 2 million taels of silver.

Supporting equipment, as well as the army, then more is needed.

Now 20,000 flintlock pistols have been put into production in the early stage, which requires 400,000 taels of silver, and some other things, such as armor, equipment, and artillery, all of which cost money.

Although Zhu Youxiao's inner library is not empty, it really can't be taken out.

You must know that this money was inherited from the grandfather of the Wanli Emperor. After his father took the throne, he threw out 2 million taels, and he didn't make any trouble at all.

At the same time, I have to repair my grandfather's grave and my father's grave, which is another big expense.

If you hadn't stopped the rebuilding of the palace, it is estimated that you would have begun to be stretched thin by now.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao was even more helpless.

It's not easy!

Sitting up straight and glancing at Chen Hong beside him, Zhu Youxiao asked, "Has the Internal Affairs Office already started selling?" ”

"Emperor Qiqi, it has already begun to be sold." Chen Hong respectfully agreed.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and continued to lean back in the rocking chair.

As long as you start selling, you can make money. As for the civil officials and the nobles and relatives, Zhu Youxiao didn't consider it at all.

I still remember that at the end of Emperor Chongzhen, the imperial court had no money, and Emperor Chongzhen hoped that the ministers could donate a little.

As a result, no one took out the money. Whether it is a noble or a relative, they are all crying poor. But after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, these people were very rich.

As for relying on those veteran nobles to fight, Zhu Youxiao didn't even think about it.

To this day, the military household system of the Ming Dynasty is no longer necessary; The nobles who lie on the military household system and suck blood can't even ask for it.

Sooner or later, find an opportunity, like in the Han Dynasty, to cut off a batch of titles.

In the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued an order to march south, and the liehous almost did not respond, which made Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty realize that these liehous, who had been separated from the central government, must be eliminated.

Therefore, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took advantage of the regulations set by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty to abolish the titles of one hundred and six marquis in one fell swoop on the grounds that "gold is not as good as the law".

Since then, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has often abolished the titles of the Marquis of the Western Han Dynasty on the grounds that "gold is not as good as the law", almost sweeping away the political interest groups formed in the early Han Dynasty.

What kind of method should you choose?

In any case, we must find a way to sweep away a group of these people. Sweep them away, and it will be much less difficult to move the army again.

When Zhu Youxiao was pondering how to make the Ming Dynasty have fewer titles, a group of people had already arrived in Luoyang.

Luoyang, once a very prosperous city, especially in the Han and Tang dynasties, was used as the national capital several times, you can imagine how grand Luoyang City is.

Although Luoyang City was repeatedly destroyed in war, it was also rebuilt repeatedly. After arriving in the Ming Dynasty, although Luoyang was somewhat declining, it was still a big city in the Central Plains.

Located on the main transportation route, the land is fertile, and the city is prosperous, it has become a good place, and it is also a favorite place for all the Ming Dynasty vassal kings.

There are also many vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty in Luoyang, which can be traced back to the time of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang has many heirs, and his twenty-fifth son is named Zhu ??, was born in the twenty-first year of Hongwu and was named King Yi. Until the sixth year of Yongle, 17-year-old Zhu ?? only came to his fiefdom Luoyang, "only 2,000 stones".

Zhu Dianao is the seventh generation of King Yi, and inherited the title in the twenty-third year of Jiajing. During his reign of 20 years, relying on himself to be a nobleman, Zhu Dianao did not take the magistrate in his eyes at all, "he must be constructed, and he will be humiliated."

When the court officials and gentry passed through Luoyang, Zhu Dianao also sent someone to stop them, "詈 (the meaning of insult) is not to go to the court, and those who enter the court will be humiliated with indecent manners." He is still like this to the officials, and he is even more ruthless to the local people.

Emperor Jiajing imprisoned Zhu Dianao and his son in Kaifeng and stripped him of the title of King Yi.

Although the title of King Yi has been cut, there are still many descendants of Zhu Dianao in Luoyang, including the king of the county, and there should be four or five.

You must know that Daming is the prince of the prince, the eldest son of the prince inherits the title of prince, and the sons of other princes are ten years old, and they are awarded gold and silver books and silver treasures, and they are named county kings.

The eldest son is the eldest son of the county king, and the eldest grandson is awarded to the eldest grandson, and the crown is regarded as the second grade. Zhuzi awarded General Zhenguo, General Sun Fuguo, great-grandson General Fengguo, Lieutenant Sun Zhenguo of the 4th, Lieutenant of Sun Fuguo of the 5th, and Lieutenant of Fengguo below the 6th.

It can be said that one will make a lot of county kings, and then each county king will make a bunch of people. All of these people have their own land, and they don't pay taxes on their land, and they also encroach on the land of the land.

Not to mention other places, Luoyang alone, the kings of Luoyang have basically controlled Luoyang.

In addition to the Yi Wang line, the Wanli Emperor also sealed his favorite son King Fu here.

Although King Fu has not been in Luoyang for a long time, the reward can be said to be the best among the princes of previous dynasties.

Coupled with the development of these years, King Fu has encroached on countless heaven and earth. Coupled with the kings of Luoyang, Henan Province can't afford to support them.

Under such circumstances, a group of people came to Luoyang. The leader is Chen Sihai, a student of Zhao Bingzhong.

Chen Sihai came to Luoyang quietly with people and stayed directly at the post station in Luoyang.

Externally, they are not people from the General Administration Department, let alone the Inspection Department of the General Administration Department, and they are only here to do things in the name of the outside world.

After checking into the post station, Chen Sihai immediately found Tongyi.

These people are their own people, they sent the tantric music, and they also know about local things. Although they have not been here much longer than themselves, they have been longer.

While drinking tea, Chen Sihai waited.

It didn't take long for a man to walk in from outside. The scar on this person's face is particularly obvious, it is Zhao Zhu of Luoyang County.

"Humble Zhao Zhu, see your lord." After seeing Chen Sihai, Zhao Zhu hurriedly bowed and saluted.

Nodding slightly, Chen Sihai looked Zhao Zhu up and down, and said, "We have something to do this time." Let's talk about it, what is the situation in Luoyang today? ”

"Lord Hui," Zhao Zhu said slowly: "Today's Luoyang is naturally the prefect of Henan, Liao Zhong. This person was born in Jinshi, and after many years of ups and downs in the sea, he took the road in the capital a few years ago and rose to the prefect of Henan. ”

Chen Sihai nodded and said, "Do you know what the way is?" ”

"I don't know about this lowly position." Zhao Zhu shook his head directly and said: "The lowly position can only listen to some news between the market, and more things are not clear." ”

Nodding slightly, Chen Sihai continued to ask: "How is Chen Qiyu of Luoyang County?" ”

Zhao Zhu knew in his heart that this time the above sent someone down, it must be for the secret music that he sent away. And the person who went up to this secret music was Chen Qiyu of Luoyang County, and it was not strange to ask him above.

In fact, before this, Zhao Zhu had already made some preparations.

The reason is also very simple, he is not willing to be a messenger here forever. As a person with ideals and ambitions, Zhao Zhu feels that this time is an opportunity, and if he can do well, he may be promoted.

It is important to know that the various official positions of the General Administration Department are vertically managed and are not subject to local jurisdiction.

As long as he can do things well and get the approval of the upper echelons of the General Administration, he can be promoted, and he doesn't look at his background, so Zhao Zhu feels that this is an opportunity.

So during this time, Zhao Zhu has been working hard to clear up a lot of news about Chen Qiyu.

"Lord Hui, Chen Qiyu's reputation in Luoyang is quite good, and the people say that he is a good official, not corrupt, distinguishing between right and wrong, and adjudicating cases fairly, and some people in Luoyang have begun to call him Chen Qingtian."

Zhao Zhu talked eloquently, obviously the preparations he had made before were useful.

"I have also learned about the humble position in private, but the officialdom is not satisfied with Chen Qiyu, and many people think that he is too mean. Previously, because of the corruption of the post guards, Chen Qiyu severely punished a group of post soldiers, and it is said that he was very ruthless. ”

At the same time, because of the encroachment of the people's land, he also went to King Fu's house in person. It's just that he didn't even enter the door before he was blasted out. ”

When Zhao Zhu said this, he raised his head and glanced at Chen Sihai, and saw that he didn't react, so he continued: "But Chen Qiyu didn't give up, but instead seized a lot of Fuwang's salt shops, saying that Fuwang sold illicit salt. ”

In the end, there was no way, and King Fu returned the land to the people. But that's only a small part, after all, those salt shops are not that valuable, and it is impossible for King Fu to take out too much land. ”

"It is precisely because of this incident that Chen Qiyu and Liao Zhong, the prefect of Henan, have a disagreement."

Hearing this, Chen Sihai suddenly raised his head to look at Zhao Zhu and asked, "What kind of disgrace is it?" ”

"It is said that Liao Zhong asked Chen Qiyu not to seal the Fuwang Store at that time, but Chen Qiyu didn't listen to him, so the prefect Liao Zhong found all kinds of faults with him, and he didn't get along very happily in the past two years."

Chen Sihai nodded and continued to ask, "Is there anything else?" ”

"Yes." Zhao Zhu also nodded and said: "The reputation of Liao Zhong, the prefect of Henan, is not very good, King Fu has a relationship with the people, and everything that involves land is finally awarded to King Fu's Mansion." ”

"The local people are already well-known, and the prefect Liao Zhong and Fu Wangfu wear a pair of pants."

At the same time, on the ground of Luoyang over the years, Liao Zhong also looted merchants and gentry. It is said that when collecting taxes, a large bucket is used, and sometimes it can even be as long as a bucket and a half, which is hated by the local people. ”

Hearing this, Chen Sihai frowned, is this Liao Zhong so hateful?

Collusion with King Fu, Chen Sihai didn't care. Instead, it was a big bucket for tax collection, which made Chen Sihai very dissatisfied.

Although it is already a common practice in officialdom to use big buckets, it is a bit too much to get a bucket and a half.

The so-called big bucket, in fact, is also very simple, that is, the bucket used for weighing when collecting taxes, and it should normally be a bucket according to the standard weight.

And some people will make you a very large bucket, and it will take more than half of the standard bucket to fill this large bucket of grain. In addition, some losses had to be deducted when handed over to the imperial court, and the rest was naturally put into his pocket.

"This Lord Liao Zhongliao has accepted four concubines for three years, and every time he says that he doesn't make a big deal, but if he gives less gifts, he will be in trouble when he turns around." Zhao Zhu continued.

"It's really an official who has the means." Chen Sihai sighed.

In fact, these are ordinary means in officialdom, and Liao Zhong is definitely not the only one who uses them, but it just depends on the depth of their use.

Some people have black hearts and thick faces and hard roots, so they are more ruthless. Some people are not so hard-rooted, not so thick-hearted, and timid, so they won't be too ruthless.

Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty once said, "Three years of Qing prefect, 100,000 snowflakes of silver." ”

Although there is no such sentence yet, everyone knows that local officials are very capable of making money.

Some of the money they got went into their own pockets, and the other part was given to Shangguan and their backers in the court, otherwise there would be no one to protect them.

That's a very large chain of interests.

Chen Sihai is wondering what he should do, and to what extent?

Now that he finally understood what the teacher meant, this matter was really tricky. If you do everything according to what you do and think, then I am afraid that you will really be called a cool official, and if you don't do it, you will not be famous in history, but you will be stinking for thousands of years.

At this time, Chen Sihai thought of Chen Qiyu. I don't know what my own family thinks, but I can meet him first.

So Chen Sihai said: "When is your next inspection?" ”

Zhao Zhu hurriedly took a step forward and replied, "Lord Hui, it's tomorrow." ”

Nodding slightly, Chen Sihai said, "You go and bring news to Chen Qiyu, agree on a place to meet, and say that we want to meet him." ”

"Yes, sir." Zhao Zhu agreed and said respectfully.

"Alright, there you go." Chen Shihai nodded and said.

After Zhao Zhu left, Chen Sihai leaned back in his chair.

I haven't moved yet, but I'm already feeling the pressure, and I hope everything will go well.

Early the next morning, Luoyang Zhixian Yamen.

Chen Qiyu got up early in the morning, moved his muscles and bones, and then washed up and started to have breakfast.

This is what he has to do every day, and for Chen Qiyu, it is already a familiar thing.

At this time, Master Li Fang walked in from outside, and he came straight to Chen Qiyu and said, "My lord, Zhao Zhu is here." ”

Hear Zhao Zhu's name. Chen Qiyu put down the chopsticks in his hand.

This general secretary has also been here a few times, and it is not a new thing for Chen Qiyu.

But when he saw Master Li Fang's face, this was not a face without things.

"What's the matter?" Chen Qiyu looked at Li Fang and asked.

"Back to my lord, Zhao Zhu asked to see my lord, saying that someone asked me to bring a message to my lord." Li Fang hurriedly said, with a little worry in her tone.

In fact, since that secret performance was sent away, Li Fang's heart has not been calm.

Reach out and put down the chopsticks in your hand. Chen Qiyu said with a smile: "Then let him in." ”

Li Fang nodded, turned around and walked out, bringing Zhao Zhu in.

"Tongzheng Si Jiupin Tongyi Zhao Zhu, see my lord." After seeing Chen Qiyu, Zhao Zhu bowed and saluted.

Chen Qiyu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Someone asked you to bring a message to the official?" Who wants to say what? ”

"Lord Hui, it's the inspector of the General Administration." Zhao Zhu bowed down and said: "As for what it is, I don't know. The patrol envoy just asked the lowly to bring a word to the adult. ”