Yan Hong kowtowed and said: "The old immortal forgives the boy's sins, and the boy dares to say it." ”

Emperor Jiajing said: "The old man said before, there are no monarchs and ministers here today, only Uncle Zhu, Brother Lu, Brother Huang and you, the boy of the Yan family. But it doesn't hurt to say that. ”

Yan Hong nodded and said: "Yes, the kid dares to think that my Ming official is only afraid that nine out of ten will be greedy, and the remaining one is not greedy if he doesn't want to be greedy, but has no power to be greedy." The kid knows that there is only one official who is not greedy, that is the Hai Ruihai pen holder, but although this person is talented and virtuous, his actions are very absurd, he eats chaff in the county yamen, and squeezes the county officials to get noodles and vegetables, the kid can't be such a person. Therefore, to see whether an official is good or not, first of all, to see whether he has the ability, whether he can govern the locality, do things for the emperor, and earn money for the treasury and the inner treasury of the Long Live Lord. Of course, honesty also depends on it, if it is corrupt and perverts the law, making the people under the rule miserable, and even forcing the people to take risks and thieves run rampant, then they should naturally be killed. But in general, there is no need to be too full of blame. Yang Shun's army was in Xuanda for several years, greedy for military salaries and rations, and private merchants, but he took the officers and soldiers and fought several battles with the Tartars, although there were many dead and wounded military horses, and he did not lose much land, and basically beat the Tartars back every time. The officers and soldiers under his command also had various dissatisfaction with Yang Xuanda, but when the Tartars came, they still fought to the end for the Long Live Lord. Yang Junmen's standard camp, there are some illegal things in Pingsuli, and the kid can also check it clearly. But these arrogant soldiers, who finally followed Yang Junmen to the north of Malianbao, fought to the death with the Tartars, shedding the last drop of blood for the Great Tomorrow family. Therefore, the kid dared to think that with this bloody battle, he had all kinds of lawlessness during his lifetime. There is no need to be too strict. In this way, the soldiers can work for their heavenly family with peace of mind. ”

At that time, officialdom emphasized virtue first and talent. Those who are officials must sing moral articles. Although in fact, everyone has a nest of snakes and rats, and the world is as black as a crow, but they also have to say something impassionedly and honestly. Yan Hong's remarks can be called shocking. But to the ears of Emperor Jiajing, it was fresh. He had already heard calluses in his ears about governing the country by virtue emphasized by the ministers, but he felt that Yan Hong's words were quite reasonable.

Huang Jin interjected again: "As far as I know, Yang Shun is not a small amount of money in Xuanda, not more than 100,000? Many of them were sent to the Yan Mansion. I don't know if there is such a thing? ”

Yan Hong nodded calmly and said, "Mr. Huang is right. Yang Shun sent money to my grandfather and father every year. He is my grandfather's righteous son and my father's righteous brother, so naturally he doesn't dare to lack courtesy. Even for the boy, I often have gifts. But Yang Shun's money is not only for this. Now that there are many civil officials in my capital, which one does not need to be touched? Even the iron-clad officials and gentlemen with their lips and tongues like guns, they must also send some moisturizing pens, please be merciful and don't scold too harshly. In addition, there are many nobles in Xuandafu, and Yang Shun's uncle is a retainer of the Zhu family, and he has dealings with these princes, generals, and lieutenants. Do you still mean to let the nobles break the bank? Besides, the grandfather passed down the decree, although the clan has Lu rice every year. But in recent years, many people have used money instead of food, especially lieutenants, and many of them have had a difficult life. Since Uncle Yang Shun is the governor of Xuanda, of course, he often has to socialize with the clans, and he must give some gifts, and let the descendants of the great grandfather eat more good food. That's why I said that although Yang Shun fished a lot of money, it wasn't spent on him alone. ”

Emperor Jiajing had heard about Yang Shun's corruption in Xuanda for a long time, and it was not news. Which of these officials can do it with a clean sleeve? So for Huang Jin's words, he was originally the wind in his ears. However, Yan Hong mentioned that the life of the clan relatives was difficult, but it touched another heartstring of Emperor Jiajing. That Yang Shun's turbidity problem was suddenly abandoned to the clouds. Emperor Jiajing immediately asked: "Speaking of which, how is the clan of this Shanxi province living?" You kid and the old man talk separately. ”

Yan Hong said: "Yes." The boy followed the will of the old fairy and went to Shanxi to talk with many princes, generals, and lieutenants. Regarding the situation of the clan relatives, although they are in the tube, they also know a thing or two. The clan of our Ming Dynasty is divided into eight classes according to the norms formulated by the great grandfather. From the boy's point of view, among them, the prince, the prince of the county, etc., are the people of the people, and they enjoy the riches. The rest of the Zhenguo generals, auxiliary generals, Fengguo generals, etc., although they are not as rich as the prince and the prince of the county, they also have a good life. Among the lieutenants of Zhenguo, the auxiliary countries, and the Fengguo lieutenants, there are people who live in poverty. Especially the lieutenant of Fengguo, Lu Mi is the least, and his descendants have no titles, and some even have insufficient food and clothing. After that, he told Emperor Jiajing about the things that Zhu Tingkui cried to him that day, as well as some of the situations he investigated later.

Emperor Jiajing heard that his relatives, the descendants of his grandfather, had fallen into such a step, his nose was sour, and he said in a trembling voice: "I didn't expect that the dragon son and phoenix grandson would be reduced to this." Boy, the old man asked you to give them a few boat leads, have you done this? ”

Yan Hong said: "If you go back to the old immortal, the kid will prepare thirty boats to guide the clan to the clan according to the instructions of the old immortal. But the old fairy, this ship is in hand, and it still needs silver as capital to go to sea. Those rich clans are just icing on the cake for their boats; Those clans who have no money, although they are sending charcoal in the snow, where do they get the capital to do business? The charcoal is too hot for them to pick it up. The kid talked to several clans who were living in difficulty this time, and also gave them ideas. But how to distribute this boat guide in the end has to be considered in the long run, lest the old gods have a good intention, and the clan relatives who really need help will not get much benefit. ”

When Emperor Jiajing heard Yan Hong say this, he showed that he really considered the leaders wholeheartedly and worked enthusiastically for the leaders, which was quite praised. But when it comes to the bad living conditions of the clan, it seems that his kindness in distributing the boat guide is not a cure, and he can't help frowning: "Boy, then in your opinion, what should those poor clans do to help them?" ”

Yan Hong knew that this matter was what Emperor Jiajing really cared about, and if he answered well, then this fourth meeting with the monarch was at least qualified. Fortunately, he had already sorted out his thoughts before he came, and he got the advice of his grandfather Yan Song, so he immediately cleared his throat, sorted out his thoughts, and said unhurriedly: "Back to the old fairy, the boy's dull opinion, and ask the old fairy to give me more advice." In the boy's view, the reason for the difficulty of the clan's life was that the Chinese courtiers in the dynasty deducted the clan's Lu rice because of the excessive number of clan members, and although the treasure money was nominally issued to offset the Lu rice, in fact, the treasure money could not buy anything. Second, the clan is divided into eight grades, from the prince to the lieutenant of Fengguo, the difference between Lu and Mi is dozens of times, and the local power and so on are even more different, which will inevitably cause difficulties in the life of the clan at the bottom. Three, Lu Mi is distributed, and now it is first sent to the palace, and then distributed by the palace, and the intermediate links are mixed, and it is inevitable that there will be losses, and once there is loss, the bottom clan is more likely to be bullied. Fourth, when the great grandfather made the rules, the clan did not communicate with the four people, lacked the means to make a living, and had been used for a long time, even if he immediately let them make a living, where did they learn? Because of these four points, some lower-class clans will inevitably suffer from hunger and poverty. ”

Emperor Jiajing listened to Yan Hong's analysis, nodded again and again: "Boy, since you know the situation of the clan, quickly tell the old man, how can you teach these clans to no longer suffer poverty?" ”

Yan Hong arched his hand and said: "The old immortals, the customs of the Celestial Empire, many sons and many blessings, the descendants of the great grandfather, naturally they are also increasing their mouths. After all, the country's financial supply is limited, so it is inevitable that the lower-class clan relatives will not be able to use enough rice. You can't give the lieutenants the same rice as the generals, because that is not enough. What we can do, in the light of the boy, is mainly to open up sources and reduce expenditure. Open source, increase income, but also let the clan self-reliance, some progress. For those who throttle, the existing supply of rice should be as fair and fair as possible, and will not suffer from a lack of money but an uneven supply. Therefore, if you want to come, you can start from the following aspects. ”

He paused, and when he saw Emperor Jiajing's old eyes shining, he stared at it with interest: "Come on." ”

Yan Hong said: "The first one is to increase the supply of money and food to the clan. ”

After saying this, Emperor Jiajing couldn't help but be a little disappointed on his face, and Huang Jinzao next to him sneered: "What is a good idea for me to open up sources and reduce expenditure, I originally wanted to send more silver, but I don't know if this silver came out of Taicang or from the inner treasury?" ”

At that time, the crux of the Ming Dynasty boiled down to the word "money", making ends meet, the country's money was not enough to spend, and the emperor's inner treasury was also tight. Yan Hong called to increase the supply to the clan, no matter which way it went, it was impossible. It is impossible to get more than one batch of household budgets, which is impossible to drop the heads of those civil officials, and to dig out Jiajing's inner treasury again? That doesn't seem to fit either. Therefore, Emperor Jiajing was also full of doubts, wondering how this little rabbit cub could have given such a ridiculous idea.

Yan Hong saw Huang Jin asking, but he didn't hurry and said, "Mr. Huang misunderstood. I am increasing the supply of money and grain, not to give money from the current Taicang or Inner Treasury, but to focus on the future. The extra money is a commercial tax. ”

Jiajing was puzzled: "Commercial tax? ”

Yan Hong said: "Yes, commercial tax." Originally, the Chinese dynasty stipulated that land has land rent, and merchants have commercial taxes, which is the lifeblood of the imperial court. But now I collect the commercial tax, which is quite untidy. It is claimed to be 30 taxes and 1, but in fact it is collected, I am afraid that there are no 300 taxes or 3,000 taxes. The money that should be collected cannot be put into Taicang, nor can it be put into the inner treasury. Rather than this, it is better to simply use it to increase the offerings of the clan. ”

Huang Jin suddenly said indignantly: "Ridiculous, ridiculous! According to your meaning, this kid, is it to indulge the clan and extort merchants? Competing for profits with the people in this way will inevitably lead the clan relatives to poison the merchants, make the people miserable, and also damage the prestige of the dynasty! (To be continued......)