"Your Majesty, the household finances have been a little tight recently..."Peng Yue was ready to say his long-brewing plan today, after all, he felt that he had almost prepared these days. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Huh?" Zhu Houxi was a little surprised, "Aiqing, isn't the water transportation, land transportation and textile affairs you supervised very smooth?" And recently, the financial revenue reported by the Ministry of Household has been growing steadily. ”

"Your Majesty, the research of the Ordnance Institute and the Weaving Bureau both need to be funded and supported by the Ministry of Households..."Peng Yue saw Zhu Houxi's expression a little displeased, "Of course, this expenditure is nothing. The main reason is that the Shaanxi army has just been paid food and salary recently... Moreover, the Taoist priests invited by the palace recently, the ministers thought selfishly that His Majesty's alchemy furnace or something should be replaced with a new set. "Peng Yue can only exchange for greater benefits at the cost of supporting Zhu Houxi's cultivation.

When Zhu Houxi heard Peng Yue say this, he couldn't help but be happy in his heart, he originally wanted to use more money for cultivation, but he was reluctant to use his private treasury. "Then I don't know what Aiqing's plan is?"

"Your Majesty, over the years, the imperial court has implemented a policy of tax leniency, and Baixin has praised it, and agricultural tax revenue has not only not declined, but has risen a lot, so it can be seen that the tax policy has indeed been praised by the people and improved the enthusiasm of the people, so we should never start with raising agricultural taxes again..."

"I see that the increase in agricultural taxes is still because of the disadvantages such as cleaning up the farmland in the past few years, re-measuring the land, and confiscating the hidden land..."Zhu Houxi said with a smile, "But I am not confused, and I also know the benefits of this tax relaxation policy, and the household finances are not tense to a certain extent, and I will not move the mind of agricultural taxation..."

"Your Majesty Shengming!" Peng Yue's words are sincerely admired, Zhu Houxi's consciousness and self-discipline consciousness are indeed worthy of admiration, but Zhu Houyu has done things repeatedly, one will be sage, and the other will be confused, Peng Yue doesn't know that his "sage energy" can be maintained for a few days, but at least he picked a good time today.

"Or do you want to add a business tax?" Zhu Houxi asked in a low voice, and his tone was not very sure.

"Your Majesty, this must not be done!" Peng Yue hurriedly waved his hand on the side, "Now that Caoyun, the weaving bureau and other reforms have just emerged, and they have not yet stabilized, if the commercial tax is added at this time, it is not conducive to commercial development, I am afraid that the achievements made before will be greatly reduced." ”

"What you said is reasonable, and as soon as the matter of tax increase is raised, there must be a lot of ministers in the DPRK and China who oppose it..."Zhu Houxi muttered to himself while pointing his finger on his thigh, "But the use of the palace is also tight... Your problem with the household..."

"The minister doesn't want His Majesty to cut the amount in the palace, part of the money in the court should have been transferred to His Majesty, how can he still think of letting His Majesty cut the degree in the palace!" Peng Yue didn't know when he learned it, and he could say such "shameless" words.

"Then what is Aiqing's intention when she mentions to me that the household department is financially tight?" Zhu Houxi asked with a smile, obviously, although Peng Yue's sycophant was not very good, it still spoke to Zhu Houxi's heart.

"Your Majesty, the minister has a good plan to solve the urgent needs of the household department." Peng Yue said in a calm tone.

"Aiqing, don't sell Guanzi, hurry up..."Zhu Houxi smiled slightly, "I know you have a lot of strange methods!" ”

"Your Majesty, please reopen the cities of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong!" Peng Yue's tone was firm, staring straight at Zhu Houxi.

"What?" Zhu Houxi squinted his eyes and leaned forward, "You want to reopen the market?" ”

Peng Yue's heart was shocked when he saw Zhu Houxi's appearance, but he also foresaw that Zhu Houyu would not easily agree, "Your Majesty, if you open your mouth to trade, you will exchange the things of my Heavenly Empire for gold and silver in Fanbang, and the profits will be huge." ”

"Big profits..."Zhu Houxi lowered his head, noncommittal.

"The profits handed over by the three divisions before were not very much, and they cost a lot..."Zhu Houxi paused and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's also troublesome to do, after all, it's been wasted for so many years." ”

"Your Majesty, this matter is not troublesome, after all, the old site is still there, and there are still many officials who are proficient in this way..."Peng Yue explained slowly, "And it took too much money before because the system was not strict enough..."

"You also have research on this matter?" Zhu Houxi became interested in what Peng Yue said.

"Your Majesty, the minister is only a little bit of a thing..."Peng Yue saw Zhu Houxi asking, and he was also a little happy in his heart, "Before, the city department was subordinate to the political department, and the tax power was also in the hands of the local government, the minister thought, the profit handed over is not much, maybe..."

"Yes, I have always felt that there is something wrong with this move, and I must bring this power to the imperial court!" Zhu Houxi patted the dragon chair, a little emotional, and forgot that he had not agreed to Peng Yue's suggestion.

"Your Majesty, we can't limit all this power to death, so that we will tie the hands and feet of the locality..."Peng Yue didn't want to engage in excessive centralization, he knew that this would be a big malpractice, "Your Majesty, it is better for the imperial court to set the tax rate, and then the local government will collect it, part of it will be handed over, and some of it will be retained by the local government, and the officials of the city department will be directly sent by the imperial court..." And in the story, there are also some examples of trade with foreign countries and very profitable ones.

In fact, at the beginning, Peng Yue hoped to directly return this power to the imperial court, because he was worried that this measure would not be implemented well in the local area, so he wanted to manage it himself. But the thought of the potential for over-centralization of power left behind gave up the idea. I have this sense of "self-discipline", but Zhu Houxi, who is sitting on it, and those court officials do not necessarily have this awareness.

And the tax revenue is divided into two, part of which is handed over to the imperial court and part is left to the local government itself, plus the assistance of some regulatory measures, which can not only ensure that the household department gets a large amount of income, but also stimulate the enthusiasm of the local government, so that local officials can actively run the city department.

"And... Your Majesty, in the past, the Municipal Department of Shipping had set up a special organization to receive foreign tributary personnel, and the minister suggested that the food and clothing among them should be abolished..."Peng Yue has always felt that it is really unreasonable to use such a large sum of money to receive so many people who come to do business.

"It's... I have lost the prestige of my Celestial Empire... I can still afford this money..."

"Your Majesty, tributary personnel generally do not enter our court by the Third Division..."Peng Yue stood below and explained, "Otherwise, the tributary personnel and trade personnel will be clearly separated, and the tributary personnel can be easily received, but the trade personnel do not need to be received..."

"That's not right!" Zhu Houxi waved his hand, "I haven't agreed to your request to restore the City Division!" When Zhu Houxi said this, he also laughed.

"Your Majesty..."Peng Yue lowered his head, almost unable to hold back his laughter with Zhu Houxi.

"Okay, okay, I still have to think about this matter..."Zhu Houxi pointed at Peng Yue, "If you still have something to say, just continue..."

"Your Majesty..."Peng Yue saluted Zhu Houxi, and his grasp of this matter also increased.

"Your Majesty, do you remember the batch of Furlong machines captured by Wang Hong, the deputy envoy of the sea channel, on the southeast coast, and those Furlong machines were all made by Westerners and were very powerful. Many of the artillery pieces developed in the Chen's ordnance institute were modified from the Franco. It can be seen that Westerners can also produce some useful things. If we trade with them, we can exchange these things for which we do not have. And then wouldn't it be better to transform these things so that they can be used by our court? Peng Yue's statement is based on facts. In fact, the so-called Fur machine was artillery, which was actually captured from the Portuguese fleet. However, it is said that at this time on the southeast coast, Portugal often carried out robberies together with the Japanese pirates, so they were able to rob the Portuguese warships and firearms.

"These things don't have to be obtained by trade," Zhu Houxi said leisurely, "We can also make them ourselves." Although Zhu Houxi said so, he was not very confident.

"What Your Majesty said is very true, and we can indeed make it. Wouldn't it be easier to just be able to get it directly from someone else? Besides, we can also transform them into better and stronger, and we can show them the strength of our Ming Dynasty. Peng Yue patiently explained, "And this time we just got it by luck, but I'm afraid there are still many things that we can't obtain, and we can only see them by relying on normal trade and trade." ”

"In this way..."Zhu Houyu muttered in a low voice, "You said that the reopening of the market is indeed a lot of benefits." ”

"Your Majesty Shengming, what Your Majesty said is extremely true!" Peng Yue hurriedly picked up the conversation below.

"However, the Japanese people are really hateful, and when they were trading in the past, they robbed and burned merchant ships and killed my Ming officials. If you don't close the port and teach them some lessons, they are afraid that they will not know that the sky is high and the earth is thick! Zhu Houxi suddenly became indignant again.

At this time, Peng Yue also found out that Zhu Houyu was not a person who was bound by the ancestral system, but was indeed resentful of the Japanese tribute battle in the second year of Jiajing, and he couldn't help but secretly blame Xia Yan in his heart: How firmly you wrote the letter at that time, leaving such a big shadow in Zhu Houxi's heart.

"Your Majesty, it is because of the civil war that some homeless samurai are forced to make a living, so they have started this hateful business. We closed the treaty ports, but we could not prohibit this matter, but because the Japanese people could not get the things of our Heavenly Empire, they were even more eager for this, and now the Japanese rebellion on the southeast coast is getting more and more intense..."Peng Yue knew that it had reached a critical juncture at this time, so his words were also extremely earnest.

"According to what you mean, the unrest is getting worse and worse now, or is it because of the abolition of the city?" Zhu Houxi frowned, looking half-believing or unbelieving.

"Words can't be said like this..."Peng Yue saw that Zhu Houxi was slightly displeased, and his momentum weakened, "The minister just thinks that if I reopen the market, then the Japanese Kingdom will be able to get the things of the Celestial Empire that I am increasingly eager for, and I am grateful to Dade and overjoyed." Those barbarians can't risk their lives to come to the southeast coast to rob... Moreover, we dominate the trade, and if there is another misconduct in the Japanese state, we will temporarily close the ports and punish them. At that time, they will definitely look up to our heavenly dynasty and snort, and they will not dare to make a mistake. ”

Peng Yue has always believed that the Ming Dynasty's rebellion against the Japanese invaders intensified, and the sea ban bore great responsibility. At this time, Japan has opened its mouth to trade, and China is still prohibiting trade, Japan wants to get China's goods, trade fails, can only rely on robbery, as a result, the robbery of the Japanese is becoming more and more frequent, the scale is getting bigger and bigger, so Peng Yue can only explain this matter to Zhu Houxi thoroughly, explain it clearly, and hope that he can calmly analyze the pros and cons.

"There is some truth in what you said..."Zhu Houxi stroked his chin with a pensive look, "But I heard that in the past few years, the Japanese have burned down people's houses on the southeast coast, killed the people, and done all kinds of evil, if you don't teach them some lessons, it will be really difficult to eliminate the hatred in my heart!" ”

"It's time to teach them some lessons..."Peng Yue saw that Zhu Houxi was loose in his words on this matter, so he followed and agreed, "But Your Majesty, we can't cut off trade ties with other countries just because of a Japanese state. The small countries of the Westerners all admire the civilization of the Celestial Empire, and they are also very eager for the things of the Celestial Empire. If we cut off the admiration and study and exchange of our DPRK because of a small Japanese country, wouldn't we lose a big deal because of a small one? ”

Peng Yue knew that the West had developed very advanced firearms, such as Portuguese artillery, and that he had to trade with them to obtain these things, so that the current Ming Dynasty could not gradually lag behind the tide of the world.

"You're right, you can't lose big because of a small one, and you can't delay other states from expressing their admiration for our Celestial Empire because of a small Japanese country." Zhu Houxi stretched out his finger and pointed at Peng Yue, "It's not impossible to restore this city, but it must be expressly forbidden to receive envoys from the Japanese state!" In short, we can do business with other states, and we can also allow other states to come to us to pay tribute, but not the Japanese people! ”

"Your Majesty... This... Isn't that right? Peng Yue had an anxious expression, "If our court allows other states to come to pay tribute, but only forbids the Japanese state to come here." In this way, not only will they not be able to get the things of our Heavenly Empire, but they will also have a sense of resentment and revenge, for fear that this will lead to even more rebellion! ”

"Could it be that my dignified Heavenly Empire will still be afraid that a small Japanese kingdom will come to make trouble!" Zhu Houxi patted the dragon chair and looked very angry, "As long as the Japanese people make trouble in my Ming Dynasty for a day, I will never agree to their request for tributary trade!" ”

"Your Majesty, the Japanese people are not educated, so this disaster happened..."Peng Yue didn't know how to solve this problem at this time, "But my dynasty should repay my grievances with virtue, so that it can show the prestige of my heavenly dynasty, and it can also solve the troubles of the Japanese people..."

"No! What to repay grievances with virtue! Zhu Houxi waved his hand vigorously, "It's so decided, the market can be opened, but it will not trade with the Japanese people!" ”

"Your Majesty, I hope you can..."

"Aiqing doesn't need to say anything!" Zhu Houxi frowned, "If you get entangled in this matter again, then the employment of the city's affairs will be slowed down!" ”

"Don't dare!" Peng Yue hurriedly knelt on the ground, "If the Japanese rebellion is uneven for a day, our court will never give the Japanese the right to trade and pay tribute!" ”

Peng Yue felt a chill in his heart at this time, he vaguely felt that if this matter could not be properly resolved, then he would not be able to prevent the future trouble, and his efforts would also be ruined.

"You go down first, I'm a little tired..."Zhu Houxi leaned his body and rubbed his temples, "The affairs of the city department are still handled by Aiqing." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Peng Yue's voice was not as happy as it should be after the success.

Peng Yue vaguely felt that Zhu Houxi was not only physically tired, but his heart was beginning to be sleepy. This is not a good sign, if Zhu Houxi really loses his enthusiasm for government politics one day, then what else can he do? After all, without Zhu Houxi's support, I am afraid that these reforms will not be able to move an inch, but looking at Zhu Houxi's current obsession with the matter of cultivation, Peng Yue's worries are also deepening.

Yes, if an emperor has an attitude that does not care about the government and does not care about most things, then what can a minister who cannot hold real power do? Peng Yue began to be afraid to think about this question, but he had to think about this question again, and he only hoped that this would come slowly.

Notes: 1. On the issue of the Ming Dynasty's sea ban, readers who are interested can Baidu on their own (not all guarantees are correct, but most of the information is still valid), from which you can learn that the Ming Dynasty's sea ban is not as strict as everyone thinks, so impersonal, so the author has been in a pragmatic attitude, neither the difficulty of abolishing the sea ban is too exaggerated, nor the abolition of the sea ban is too smooth, but on the basis of reading a large number of historical materials, carefully speculated, in order to write what he thinks is the most reasonable situation.

2. Longqing switch: Ming Muzong (Ming Shizong Zhu Houyu after Ming Muzong) period, once announced the abolition of the sea ban, allowing private trade, known as the "Longqing switch" (this point if the reader is interested, you can Baidu yourself), of course, this switch is very restrictive (the scope is only "Moon Port", and there are many restrictions on private sea), but the effect is also great. However, I need to make two points here: first, at this time, trade with Japan was still prohibited, and all ships going to sea were not allowed to go to Japan, and if they went without permission, they were punished with the crime of "forbidden" (but there were still many people who took risks to go there because of the huge profits, and the smuggling trade was rampant during the period of the ban on the sea). The second point is that in the twentieth year of Wanli (Emperor Wanli after Ming Muzong), due to the Japanese Toyotomi Hideyoshi sending troops to Korea, the Ming court once again ordered a ban on the sea. (Of course, there are more reasons than this, there are many more, everything is complicated)

The reason why I wrote this is to let readers understand the concerns and thinking angles of the rulers in the matter of the sea ban, of course, if you want to understand it thoroughly, you still need to read a lot of historical materials, and it is not okay to just read Baidu Encyclopedia, hehe. (If the reader really understands the matter of the sea ban, you will find that the author's attitude towards this matter is really rigorous, and the degree of development of this matter is definitely a reasonable estimate and speculation, I hope you will forgive me for being shameless...) ）