Ma Du shook his head very dryly, "Weichen doesn't have any good ideas. ”

"No, just let me figure it out!" Lao Zhu looked at Zhu Biao again, "What about the prince?" ”

Zhu Biao also had a sad face, "Although the child has some experience in supervising the city and the inner treasury, it is really small compared to the imperial court tax and finance, and I don't know where to start for a while, so please let the father and the child go back for a good reference." ”

"I'm just a few of you caring people, I can say whatever comes to mind, and it doesn't matter if I'm wrong." Lao Zhu flipped through a yellow book casually, and when he turned from the first page to the last page, he looked up and saw that the three of them were still silent, and then said: "It's better to be Bao'er, so he can talk nonsense." ”

Xu Da arched his hand and said: "Weichen is ashamed! ”

"Wechen is incompetent!"

"Child, unscrupulous!"

"That's it, that's it, it's me who is disappointed, I didn't ask, go back to Kunning Palace!" Lao Zhu put down the yellow book in his hand and turned around and walked out of the door, the three of them followed behind in a daze, and Lao Zhu, who had just gone out and walked in front, suddenly turned around and pushed Ma Du.

Ma Du staggered back a few steps, but Lao Zhu slammed the door shut, and locked the door with a click. Ma Du threw himself on the side of the door and patted the door panel in panic, "Why does the emperor lock Weichen here!" ”

I only heard Lao Zhu shouting loudly outside: "You continue to think here, when you think of an idea, I will naturally let you out!" ”

"The emperor Weichen really can't think of it, why don't you let Weichen go home and think slowly!"

There was no response from Lao Zhu outside, Ma Du put his eyes on the crack of the door, and saw that Lao Zhu had already left quickly with Xu Da and Zhu Biao, and saw that he was about to get on the boat, so he was really anxious, "The emperor stayed, Weichen remembered!" ”

Lao Zhu, who had already stood on the bow of the boat, turned his head, his black face was full of smiles, full of folds, like a Shar Pei dog......

"Good things are hidden, and if you don't force them, you won't take them out, who are you stingy and stingy like in virtue!" Lao Zhu played a pu fan, smiling proudly and arrogantly, when it comes to being stingy, it is estimated that no one can compare to him.

Ma Du Zhengse said: "How can Weichen hide it, but suddenly he is blessed to his heart, and he has a good idea, it must be the emperor's fist and love for the people who moved the heavens, and said it through the mouth of Weichen." ”

Xu Da gave a thumbs up, "This sycophant is so good, it has a bit of my true essence!" ”

Zhu Biao pressed Ma Du on the stool, "Uncle sat down and said slowly, Yuansheng's father-in-law will give me a few more bowls of sour plum soup." ”

Looking at the appearance of the three of them singing and harmonizing, Ma Du faintly felt that he was fooled, and the words he said were like shooting out an arrow that could not be recovered, and took the sour plum soup handed by Yuansheng, and said: "Weichen thinks that the biggest drawback of this empty seal is that in the system charter, the household department, the political envoy, the government, the state, and the county financial endowment seem to be a set, but in fact, they are their own affairs, you do your account, I do my account, and in the end, as long as it fits, it can be regarded as fooled!" ”

"That's right, that's how they fooled me!" Lao Zhu slapped his thighs with a clatter, "Then talk about how to solve it!" ”

"Wechen's suggestion is to let them make a budget, starting from Zhongshu Province and going down to every yamen below, and every department in the yamen must make a budget."

Lao Zhu and the others were really confused, and asked: "What is the budget?" ”

"As the name suggests, the fiscal revenue and expenditure of the coming year are calculated in advance." Ma Du pondered, "For example, take Hangzhou as an example, calculate next year's expenses in advance, and after the summer and autumn harvests, you can withhold the financial expenditure of the next year at one time. There will not be that kind of money is insufficient, and this county will take a little bit and that county will adjust the situation, which will reduce the loss and reduce the complicated accounts. As for the rest of the taxes, they are in charge of the household department......"

"Impossible!" Lao Zhu and the three of them vetoed it together, "Hangzhou is close to Yingtian, and it is not troublesome to transport it to Beijing and hand it over to the national treasury, but how to transport remote roads such as Lingnan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Ganshan, Sichuan and Shu, and how to transport them, I am afraid that all the food will be thrown on the road!" ”

As I said before, the finance at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty was weak and strong, not that Lao Zhu was unwilling to transport the taxes he received to Yingtian, but he really couldn't afford to transport them. The taxes of the Ming Dynasty are not silver or banknotes, grain accounts for the vast majority of the taxes, in addition to silver money, you can also receive a lot of strange things, such as wood, bamboo baskets, spices, these are common, and it is not surprising to receive live creatures such as chickens, ducks, dogs and sheep.

These remote places are transported to Yingtian for taxes, but only a small part of them are still consumed along the way, if the taxes outside the budget are really transported to Yingtian, the loss along the way will definitely make Lao Zhu feel distressed.

Even if it is transported to Yingtian at any cost, it is troublesome, if the local disaster victim government has no relief capacity, and when Yingtian transports the relief grain at any cost, the people have already pulled the flag and rebelled.

"The emperor misunderstood what Weichen meant, Weichen didn't mean to transport grain to Yingtianlai, but to let the household send someone over."

"Huh!" Lao Zhu's eyes lit up, and they looked like they were empowered.

"These money and grain taxes are still in the local government, but they are in the hands of the household department, and according to the budget, they can be allocated in a lump sum to the nearest yamen such as the Inspectorate and the Command Envoy. If the emperor is not at ease, he can also let the local yamen supervise it together, and send an inspection team from time to time...... Send a messenger to patrol and raid the granary account books. If the emperor is still not at ease, don't forget that there are thousands of Jinyi Wei houses that are being built in various places. ”

"Good! Good! Good! Lao Zhu slapped his thighs with a clatter, "Xuanzhong, I know you won't let me down." Don't you just make an idea, why bother with a bitter face! ”

Ma Du rubbed his thighs, "Your Majesty, you slapped Weichen's legs, eighty percent of them are already green!" ”

"Hahaha......" Lao Zhu laughed and said: "It's me who is heavy, I will make amends to you and help you rub it, you go on, go on." ”

"Wechen has nothing to say, in the future, there will be less financial exchanges between the yamen in various places, and they are only responsible for the household department, and the accounts are clear and checkable, so naturally there is no need to use any empty seals, and in addition, it can also reduce the corruption of the local yamen, anyway, these budgets, greed can't go anywhere, and the annual expenses of the yamen in various places have rules to follow, and they are not afraid of them concealing and overreporting. Weichen only gave the emperor a rough idea, and the specific details still have to be explored in practice. Well, a little bit higher, a little more powerful! ”

"Giving you face!" Lao Zhu slapped Ma Du on the leg, "Tomorrow, I will discuss the detailed rules with hundreds of officials and how to implement them in various places." ”

"Your Majesty, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, after all, this is a new fiscal and taxation system is risky, why not choose a county to try it out, if the effect is good, try it in the political department, after all, the situation is different in different places, and it is good to adapt measures to local conditions."

Xu Da also patted his thigh and said: "This is a good idea, if the emperor has a new policy in the future, he can choose a place to try it!" It's a good thing to be natural, and it's harmless if it doesn't work. ”

Lao Zhu suddenly grabbed Ma Du's head with his hands and looked left and right, Ma Du panicked: "What are you going to do, Your Majesty, should you pull off Weichen's head!" ”

Lao Zhu let go of his hand and said, "I just want to see what the difference between your head and ours is, and I can come up with such an idea." Well, just now you said that there is a risk, what is the risk? ”

Ma Du straightened his hair and said: "The authority of the household department is too great, if nothing happens, it will be a shocking case!" ”