Tang Yi was savoring Yan Ge's old tricks, and suddenly heard the words "open the sea", and he suddenly realized that Jiajing called himself over, not to watch the play, but to let himself understand the attitude of the Big Three. Tang Yi raised his head slightly, and found that Jiajing grinned at him, and then stared at the three ministers in front of him.

"Elder Xu Ge."

"The minister is here." Xu Jie stood up respectfully and bowed his waist.

Jiajing said with a smile: "In the past few years, I have made you stare at the affairs of the household department, how much income and expenditure of the imperial court in recent years, and how much deficit, do you have an account in your heart?" ”

"Your Majesty, in recent years, there have been continuous disasters and famines, and there have been wars in the north and south, and the soldiers have been in trouble, and the expenses are very large." When it came to finance, Xu Ge's old fair face shrunk into raisins.

"Take last year as an example, the tax collected in various places is equivalent to more than 32 million taels of silver, and after deducting the local reservation, only more than 3.7 million taels were sent to the household department."

Tang Yi listened silently, and scolded again in his heart, the difference between the local tax and the imperial court tax is almost ten times, and the tax system of the Ming Dynasty is really fucking strange.

The source of everything is on Zhu Yuanzhang, this Ming Taizu Wen Taowu is diligent and loves the people, there is nothing to say, only one point, the understanding of the economy and finance is almost idiotic, he thinks that the tax will come up and send it down, it is a big move to take off his pants and fart, it is better to simply let the place stay enough, and the rest will be sent to the capital.

However, he ignored that taxes are not just as simple as collecting and sending them down, but also a kind of power to optimize the allocation of resources.

For example, at present, if the household department can have an income of more than 10 million taels, in the face of the Japanese in the southeast, it can allocate 2 to 3 million taels of special funds for training troops and building warships. In three or two years, the southeast may be peaceful.

But at the moment, it can't be done, the household department only has a pitiful million, and it has to distribute money, build palaces, and water conservancy. Seven buckles and eight buckles, nothing can be done.

Some people ask, in this case, can the tax system be changed and the national treasury should be given priority?

Imagine the tax reform in the future, and you will understand how difficult this thing is!

What's more, the Ming Dynasty also has an ancestral system as heavy as Mount Tai, and the poor and crazy Jiajing does not dare to touch this piece, preferring to pin his hopes on the sea......

Xu Jie continued: "Last year, the annual income decreased by more than one million taels, but the expenditure increased by two million taels. The extra money was mainly used to provide relief to the victims, build the Yellow River embankment, dredge the water transportation, and increase the recruitment of troops in the southeast. "Xu Jie deliberately didn't say anything about repairing the palace, but everyone knows it." Carefully calculated, the deficit last year was close to three million taels, but fortunately, the construction of the outer city not only did not cost a penny from the imperial court, but also borrowed more than one million from large households. made up for the deficit and finally survived. However, the total deficit over the years has reached more than 8 million taels. Although the interest rate of the money borrowed by the imperial court is lower than that of the Indian money, it is also six or seven hundred thousand taels a year. If the imperial court can't come up with a way to open up revenue and reduce expenditure, I am afraid that in a few years, the taxes that have been collected so hard will have to be 30%, or even more will be used to repay interest. ”

Xu Jie was clearly organized and calculated the accounts for the monarchs and ministers. Yan Song's brows were furrowed, as if he had eaten bitter gourd. Li Mo gradually recovered from the defeat just now, and his eyes kept rolling.

There is no doubt that such a big deficit in the household department is caused by the father and son of the Yan family, and His Majesty will protect them again. You can't joke about the old Zhu family. Li Mo kept calculating, looking for a breakthrough in the counterattack.

Jiajing listened to Xu Jie's chatter, as if listening to a funeral song, and waved his hand irritably.

"It's done, don't say it." Jiajing looked up to the sky and sighed, "It is said that I am rich all over the world, but apart from these palaces, what else do I have?" ”

Yan Song's face turned red, and he knelt on the ground hurriedly, "It's all the old ministers who have no way to manage their finances, so that the treasury is empty, please punish Your Majesty." Li Mo and Xu Jie also knelt down and said, "The ministers are incompetent." ”

"If you feel incompetent, you can get out of the house and coax the children to go."

The three giants were bored by Jiajing's words, and buried their heads in their chests.

"I asked you to come here to discuss, the finances have reached the point where they are now, and they have long been overwhelmed, after thinking about it, the only way to open the sea can make up for the deficit and enrich the country's resources, what do you think?" Jiajing paused and said, "Xu Jie, you talk about it first." ”

"Yes." Xu Jie pondered for a moment and said slowly: "The minister thinks that after the opening of the sea, I can sell silk, porcelain, and tea to the West in exchange for a large amount of gold and silver, enrich the country, and solve the financial crisis. The north and the south are all in one word: money! As long as you have money, with the wisdom of Your Majesty and the wisdom of the ministers of the court, it will not be difficult to calm down the chaos. Xu Jiejie gave Jiajing a top hat without a trace, and Jiajing nodded frequently.

I only heard Xu Jie say again: "However, after the opening of the sea, internal and external exchanges, will the Japanese invaders take advantage of this landing as a disaster, and the merchants will be bent on profit, and will they not be in turmoil, and they will not think about farming, and they must not be observed." ”

Xu Jie's family is in Songjiang, he is really not good at expressing his position, he can only be so ambiguous, but fortunately, Jiajing did not embarrass him, but looked at Yan Song and Li Mo.

"What do you guys think?"

Yan Song was still as steady as Mount Tai, silent, and was silent for a while, Li Mo couldn't compare to Yan Song's patience and stood up.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that if the sea can solve the predicament of the imperial court, it should indeed be opened."

Li Mo changed his attitude? Tang Yi was overjoyed in his heart, but he heard Li Mo continue: "However, Zechen thinks that the benefits of opening the sea have not been seen, and I am afraid that the disadvantages will come first. ”

Jiajing frowned, and said angrily: "What's the drawback, tell me?" ”

"Yes!" Li Mo was not sad or happy: "The minister thinks that the city has been abandoned for many years, and if you want to open the sea, you must first renovate the wharf, build the yamen, and recruit the scribes. Secondly, if you want to open the sea, you must build ships, and the ships of the sea are different from the ships of the canal, and the cost of one is three or five thousand taels of silver, and the construction of a hundred ships is hundreds of thousands; If you want to sell goods to the West, you have to expand your silk and porcelain workshops to produce things before you can sell them, so you have to invest a lot of money; Also, after the opening of the sea, the money and goods will gather, which will inevitably attract the coveted by the Japanese Invaders, if there is no strong army stationed there, I am afraid that it will become a fat sheep in the mouth of the Japanese Invaders, and the gains outweigh the ......losses."

The more Li Mo spoke, the more confident he became, and the louder his voice became. Similarly, Jiajing's brows furrowed more and more, although Yan Song didn't speak, his momentum was obviously three points weaker.

Each item listed by Li Mo is well-founded, courteous and courteous, and silently calculated, without two or three million taels of silver for an open sea, it can't be done at all. Jiajing also muttered in his heart, if he had so much money, why would he open the sea in a hurry, not to mention the ancestral system or the ancestral system, the cost alone would make people have a headache and scratch their ears and cheeks.

Yan Song coughed, "Master Li, isn't there a way to save money?" ”

Li Mo sneered, "Elder Yan Ge, what is the southeast place?" There are vacans everywhere, and there are wars every day, and in this kind of place, can the investment be less, and how can you keep the inside and the outside uneasy? ”

A few monarchs and ministers, after discussing for a long time, they just couldn't get around the huge money pit, and Yan Song, who was full of wisdom in the last round, had the upper hand and had to say: "Your Majesty, can you allow the old minister to go back and discuss with the dog and come up with a way to get the best of both worlds." ”

Jiajing was silent for a long time and nodded, "Ten days later, I will hold a court discussion, whether to open the sea, and come up with a final strategy, you all go down." ”

"Yes!"

The three adults bowed their bodies, slowly retreated, and when they reached the gate of the hall, they turned around and went out. Yan Song's eyes were dizzy, and Li Mo was preoccupied, but Xu Jie glanced at both sides of the hall, only to see a little eunuch hiding behind the curtain, and most of his face was covered. It's really getting more and more unruly, Xu Jie snorted.

When the three of them left, Tang Yi breathed a sigh of relief, after these two rounds of competition, Tang Yi finally saw some clues, when it came to forming a party for personal gain, forming a gang and forming a faction, and conspiring and fighting, Yan Song's skills were absolutely breathtaking.

However, Yan Ge Lao has never had any experience in local governance, and along the way, he has also been in the Hanlin Academy, Guozijian, and the Ministry of Rites.

As for Li Mo, this person's political skills are not top-notch, and his personality is biased and impatient, he is not a talent of Zaifu, at most he is a cadre. The reason why he was able to emerge and become a giant in the imperial court was that Lu Bing escorted him.

With the presence of Governor Lu, it is as if there is a plug-in, which can shield most of the hidden arrows from hurting people, so that Li Mo can go on a rampage and look at everything.

Yan and Li both have weaknesses, but Xu Jie, who is silent, is the real master, but he is fledgling and is accumulating strength.

Tang Yi was still thinking silently, so he heard Jiajing say angrily: "Everyone is gone, don't let the teacher roll over!" ”

Tang Yi hurriedly trotted in front of Jiajing, knelt down and kowtowed, "Student to meet Master." ”

People can't say anything about their temper, every time Jiajing saw Tang Yi, the deep imperial heart was put aside, revealing more emotions that a normal person should have.

"You've heard it, you've seen it, what do you think of my three ministers?"

Tang Yi scratched his head and said with a smile: "Master, the disciple is a person who is going to be an official, how dare you criticize the boss, aren't you making the disciple embarrassed?" ”

Tang Yi complained slightly, which made Jiajing smile again, "You little thing dare to blame me, believe it or not, I can't make you the sixth leader." ”

"Ah, that's six dollars!" Tang Yi was overjoyed, and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty, Master, thank you, Your Majesty!" ”

Jiajing's face sank with anger, "Don't rush to thank you, have I agreed?" ”

Tang Yi smiled, "No." ”

"It's good to know, the gold list has not been announced, I can let you roll to the top three at any time and be a seven-grade sesame official for a lifetime!"

Jiajing was really moody, and when he said that he would turn his face, Tang Yi could only lower his head and not speak pitifully.

"You don't have to pretend, I can give it to you, but you have to do it for me."

"What's the matter?"

"Naturally, it's open sea!" Jiajing scolded with a smile: "Do you kid have any other skills that make people look at?" ”

Tang Yi scratched his head, "It doesn't seem to be there." ”

Jiajing put away his smile and said solemnly: "Li Mo just calculated an account for me, all of them add up, the cost of opening the sea is too big, I told you directly, at most, it can't exceed 300,000 taels, can you do it?" ”

Tang Yi suddenly slapped his chest and laughed: "Master, don't worry, the disciple doesn't need a penny from the imperial court, and he can do the matter of opening the sea!" (To be continued.) )