Outside the Qianqing Gate, Xu Guangqi, who entered the palace early in the morning, finally waited for the Son of Heaven to return to the palace, and then quickly ran to the inner right door to see. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Xu Guangqi is 58 years old, age spots have begun to climb up his right cheek, his eyes are small and prominent, his eyebrows are light and elegant, and his black beard is neatly combed, with thin lips and a high nose bridge, he looks shrewd and capable. At this time, he was wearing a black round-necked plain suit, a black gauze hat wrapped in white cloth on his head and replacing his wings with a hanging belt, hemp rope around his waist, and bast shoes on his feet.

Ye Xiang, who had just come back from morning practice, saw that it was Xu Guangqi mentioned by Yang Lian yesterday, and he didn't dare to hold it up, so he stepped forward to help him up and asked, "Are you really Xu Guangqi?" ”

"The old minister is exactly."

"Ah, I've finally met the real person, well, let's dine with me, and talk while eating." Ye Xiang tried to dry his sweat with the face towel handed over by the panting Wang Chengen, and sincerely invited.

Xu Guangqi entered the palace early in the morning, did not eat, and was a little hungry, and when he saw the edict of the Son of Heaven, he did not shirk, bowed down and said, "The minister obeys the order." ”

Back to the Heart Cultivation Palace, Ye Xiang took a bath and changed his clothes and came to the East Side Hall in the Luren Zhai. It was changed to a Buddhist hall in the Qing Dynasty, and Ye Xiang was a brainwashed person without faith in later generations, so he changed it into a dining place.

There is a long table in the middle of the Luren Zhai, on which there are always thirty or fifty kinds of food handled by Lu Shou, and there is no other stool except for the throne set up in the north.

There are common things such as chicken, duck and fish on the table, and vegetables include lotus root, artemisia shoots, bamboo shoots, and bracken; Fruits include pomegranates, apples; The tea is pineapple; Because it is now the time when chrysanthemums are in full bloom, chrysanthemum cake is a must-have; In addition, according to Ke Yinyue's suggestion, Lu Shou also prepared roasted clams, fried shrimp, chicken legs and other things that Zhu Youxiao loved before...... To name a few, there are now all the things that can be seen in this season in the future, but the production is more exquisite than ordinary people, and the utensils are also the fine products of Jingdezhen official kiln.

The daily cost of the imperial meal is about 25 taels of silver, which is not all birds and animals, but only wins in quantity. Of course, some foods are very expensive because of their scarce and remote production, such as chicken fir mushrooms, which cost two silver per catty, and this is just an example. In terms of safety, the soup cooked by the chef must first be tasted by five or six people in the imperial dining room, which is called a test of saltiness, which is actually a test of poison, and then it will be presented to the emperor.

Previously, after the matter of fighting for the country, Wanli passively hid in the harem, and even the cabinet Fang Congzhe was rarely seen, let alone Xu Guangqi, at this time he saw a table full of delicacies, and thought of the dilemma of lack of pay and equipment for military training, and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Officials recommended and the temple ministers have managed the affairs of military training for more than half a year. The minister saw that His Majesty's meal today was not without extravagance, and the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" has a cloud, 'Don't be good and small', Your Majesty is concerned about the hardships of the border soldiers, and sent the ministers to inspect, and the ministers dared to ask Your Majesty to be an example for hundreds of officials, and cut the amount of money in the palace to fill the military salary. ”

Ye Xiang didn't expect to be accused of extravagance, a little unnatural, Lu Shou couldn't see it, and explained, "Lord Xu, the imperial meal has been prepared by the celebrant since the temple, which is the intention of our courtiers, and His Majesty also uses this to reward the internal and external auxiliary ministers. ”

"Father-in-law Lu, if Your Majesty saves half of the three meals a day, it will be enough for dozens of soldiers to have one more weapon, enough for hundreds of soldiers to have one more warm clothes, and enough for thousands of soldiers to have a full meal.

Ye Xiang didn't care about the three meals these days, and he ate relatively simply in Ciqing Palace, and this table full of dishes was also the first time he saw it, Xu Guangqi was the imperial historian but abided by his duties, and hurriedly played a round, "The two of you are old, don't fight, isn't it just to reduce the three meals, I am invited by Xu Aiqing." ”

It only takes five feet to sleep in 10,000 rooms in the vast building, and the 1,000 hectares of fertile land can only eat three meals a day. Ye Xiang came through, he was not a person with a good tongue, and he had not yet developed a style of extravagance, so he said to Lu Shou, "Lu Zhangji, in the future, I will prepare my meal according to the standard of four dishes, one soup, two meat and two vegetables." As for the palace people, Guanglu Temple is also in line with the perspective of frugality, not extravagant and wasteful, violators will be punished. Xu Aiqing, do you think this will work? ”

Xu Guangqi saw that the Son of Heaven had heard it, and bowed down and said respectfully, "Your Majesty's admonition is like a stream, which is really the blessing of the people." ”

After letting Lu Shou, who was a little unwilling, move the brocade stool and let Xu Guangqi sit on the left-hand side, Ye Xiang and the two began to eat, Xu Guangqi only ate the dishes on the plate in front of him, did not turn them, and chewed slowly and methodically.

"Xu Aiqing......" Ye Xiang wanted to ask Xu Guangqi about training the army, but as soon as he spoke, he put down the bowl, swallowed the food in his mouth, and pretended to listen quietly, so he dispelled the idea of chatting while eating, and said with a smile, "Forget it, let's talk about it after eating." ”

At this time, the dignity and humility of the monarch and the minister are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, just like the later generations and high-level leaders eat, it is difficult for subordinates to be calm, and Xu Guangqirao, who adheres to the principle of "eating without saying a word, sleeping without speaking", is dozens of years old, and the first time he eats at the same table with the Son of Heaven, he still can't really do it freely.

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Back at the Heart Cultivation Palace, after Ye Xiang sat down on the throne, he handed a piece of Shu to Xu Guangqi, "Xu Aiqing wrote "Sweet Potato Shu" a few years ago, and I have already read it. Sweet Potato Twelve Wins...... I am very appreciative of Aiqing's assertion that sweet potatoes are widely planted to save the famine. ”

Ye Xiangwei saw that Xu Guangqi asked the clerical room to read all the excerpts he had attended, and it could be said that he had done enough homework to be targeted.

Xu Guangqi met the Son of Heaven alone for the first time, and he was just as frightened, he received an edict from the palace last night, and he also sorted out his recent military training in detail. How do you know that the Son of Heaven actually mentioned his own recital more than ten years ago, a little incredible, "Your Majesty, this is indeed the old work of the minister when he was keeping his father's filial piety, and there were colleagues who donated [zī] (same capital, thought to be rice money, pocket money) for printing, and it was said that I saw it in the eastern Korean country a few years ago, hey, I didn't expect Your Majesty to find the original." ”

Ye Xiang thought of the countless ancestors who died of illness, starvation, and war at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and said with some sadness, "It's been a year since I wrote like this, I don't know if the sweet potato has been promoted, if there is a famine, I really hope that it can live countless people as Aiqing said." ”

"Your Majesty, because of the vast territory of our dynasty, it will take some time to naturally promote it, even if the imperial court cannot allocate money to guide farmers to plant, over time, it can spread all over the country."

Ye Xiang nodded and changed the topic, "How is the training of the new army?" ”

Xu Guangqi shook his head, "In a word, there is a shortage of silver." Ministers have been training in Tongzhou for nearly half a year, and often have a headache due to lack of soldiers, salaries, and ordnance. ”

"Hehe......" Ye Xiang couldn't help but smile bitterly when he saw that Xu Guangqi was always worried about silver, and said, "Aiqing is in a word, but I don't have any money here for you to train." Yesterday's summons, I came to find Aiqing to come up with ideas on how to let the border soldiers survive the cold winter. ”

Xu Guangqi shook his head, indicating that there was no way.

Ye Xiang knew the seriousness of the problem, this is not a problem that can be solved by planting high-yield crops extensively, we have to start from the root of the land, seeing that Xu Guangqi had concerns, he said with a serious expression, "My original intention was to let Aiqing use the name of inspecting the border customs winter clothes to urge the reward silver issued by the imperial examination to fall into the hands of the soldiers, so as to avoid the phenomenon of fraudulent collars and deductions." But this is also a palliative not a cure, and when you return to the court, I will appoint you as the governor of Henan and pilot the new policy. ”

The local administration of the Ming Dynasty was divided into three divisions, namely, the political envoy in charge of civil affairs, the criminal envoy in charge of justice, and the commander in charge of military affairs. The governor is only temporarily appointed, and there is a precedent for the governor of the Seven Grades Imperial History.

Xu Guangqi is the young Zhan Shi of Zhan Shifu, and he is a third product. Ye Xiang wanted him to take advantage of this day to patrol the sky and kill a few people to enhance his prestige, and after he came back, he was appointed as the governor and governor of Henan to implement the new policy.

Xu Guangqi has a deep understanding of the shortcomings in the current army, the old, weak, sick and disabled are full of them, and he thought that he would definitely make an example for the queen of the Qincha, this is a later story, he was more curious about the new monarch at this time to make himself the governor of Henan, "Your Majesty, there are many talents in the DPRK and China, why not appoint them on the spot, why not send ministers to go?" ”

"In a word, I only believe in you."

Xu Guangqi saw that Tianzi Xue had just spoken, smiled knowingly, and no longer delved into it, "What new policy does Your Majesty want to implement?" The minister is afraid that he will not be able to do his errands well, and he will be disappointed in his holy grace. ”

"You can do it." Ye Xiang saw that he understood, so he continued, "A few days ago, I discussed the issue of taxation in the world with Yuan Keli, the monk treasure, and I have carefully deduced it in the past two days, and I feel that there is another way to increase taxes: the gentry pay grain in one piece. ”

This is what Ye Xiang learned from "Yongzheng Dynasty", as for the one-piece errand, it has to be gradual; And the land of the military tun, because it involves the stability of the army, cannot be moved for the time being. The gentry paid grain in one piece, because the current land annexation problem is very serious, which has to start from where Wang Chengen learned about the "contribution" system.

Soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang gave the prince and the lord Zhuang Tian, and also gave the public land of hundreds of officials, and used it as a rent. The "public land" given to the nobles was recorded in the "Golden Book", and they were not naturalized and enjoyed the privilege of being exempt from taxes, grain, and service. Corresponding to the gold book, the "fish scale book" is a registered private field, which is like fish scales; The "Yellow Book" is a certificate of enlistment and is renewed every ten years.

After the nobles had the privilege of tax exemption, some of them claimed to be their own business by stealing the private land of farmers or the land of no owner, and some accepted the private land of farmers who wanted to avoid taxes for protection; The gentry and other officials also followed suit, asking the emperor for land, and turning the surrounding common people's cultivated land into a gift, which led to fewer and fewer acres of land on the fish scale book, and by the 30th year of Wanli, the registered tax land in the country was only 11.61 million hectares.

Ming takes five feet as a step (i.e., 155cm), steps of two hundred and forty as acres, and one hundred acres as acres, that is, 37,200 square meters as one acre, which is converted into 650 million acres. In later generations, the arable area will be 2 billion mu, which will be cut off one-third of the territory and minority areas, and the land that has been embezzled should be the same as the land of the fish scale, in other words, at least half of the land in the country is not taxed at present.

How could Xu Guangqi not know the disadvantages of the moment, but he didn't think of this layer for the time being, because to make Xungui pay taxes is to rob people's jobs, and it is to challenge the imperial power.

Ye Xiang saw that his brows were tightly knit, as if he was weighing, so he continued, "I thought about it again and again, and finally chose Henan as a pilot, because where the land is fertile and flat, it is convenient to plant high-yield crops in a large area, such as Gansu, corn, peanuts, tobacco, cotton, etc.; There is also the flood of the Yellow River, and Aiqing can also implement water conservancy; The most important thing is that Uncle Fu Wang is in Luoyang. ”