Shen Yichen was simply laughed at, he thought that for the sake of the identity of the imperial court, it would be no problem for each state capital to levy 10,000 taels of silver.

As a result, I didn't expect that I wouldn't even give a thousand taels of silver, especially the last one hundred taels of silver, so embarrassed to say it?

"Your colleagues are really generous, if the official doesn't ask today, I really don't know that the Shandong Prefecture has been so poor."

Listening to the ridicule in Shen Yichen's words, the officials of the Shandong Political Department had to laugh awkwardly.

The irony of two sentences will not drop a piece of meat, and if you pay for food, you are really cutting meat!

Looking at the hippie smiling faces of the officials of the Shandong Political Division, Shen Yichen understood that this group of people would definitely not eat soft, and they had to have some hard guys.

I saw Shen Yichen say slowly: "Since this is the case, we have to do some extraordinary measures in that extraordinary period." ”

"This official was born in Yingtianfu, and you must all know that the staff master of Nanzhili and Zhejiang Buzheng is famous in the world, and he is proficient in criminal names, money valleys, and documents."

"It is impossible to purge the history and politics without checking the account books of money, rice and grain, which state capital do you say the official should start with?"

While speaking, Shen Yichen's eyes swept back and forth on the officials of the Shandong Political Division, and everyone did not dare to look at each other.

The shogunate culture in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions flourished in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty, and the economic development and literary style flourished led to a large number of scholars.

This is how the famous "Master Shaoxing" of later generations came.

Of course, Shen Yichen is actually not familiar with the staff groups in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, except for Bian He, who was sent to the door. However, it is enough to borrow their names to check the accounts to scare the officials of the Shandong Political Division, after all, they don't know if Shen Yichen has connections in this area.

In these years, the accounts of the local government of the Ming Dynasty, if you want to find faults, even if you are as honest as Hai Rui, you can find loopholes. It's not that he is greedy for ink, but the local financial system of the Ming Dynasty is extremely strange, and it is impossible not to have problems.

The most incredible point is that there was no unified finance ministry in the Ming Dynasty, let alone a coordinated payment transfer channel, and the household department was too decentralized.

To use a popular word in later generations, it is called "decentralization".

For example, Yanggu County receives local taxes, which are not handed over to the finance department and then distributed according to the needs and budgets, but distributed by the local governments themselves.

For example, the county government directly decides how many taels of official servants to be issued, how many taels of garrison guards, how many taels of river embankments and yamen are maintained and retained, and how many taels are handed over to the feudal kings......

That's just it, at least the number of silver distribution is clear, and it is nothing more than that the local distribution power is larger. The problem is that the financial revenue of the Ming Dynasty is not simply silver, but in kind!

Therefore, the amount of silver on it still needs to be converted into rice grain, cloth, silk, salt tea, oil pepper and other bits and pieces, and it is not clear whether it can be changed to immortals.

What's even more outrageous is that this pile of things is not a single handover to the household department, but also has to be transported to the carrier warehouse, the inner warehouse, the Taifu Temple, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Rites......

Anyway, if the center can think of the yamen, it can basically get a piece of the pie, and in the end, it will go up to the central government and down to the locality, all of which is a lake account.

This is why the financial revenue of the Ming Dynasty can only be maintained at around 20 million taels, and it collapsed directly during the Chongzhen period at the end of the Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, even in the Guangxu period, the total annual income still maintained a scale of hundreds of millions of taels, and the gap was worlds apart.

The reason for this is that in addition to the difference in the intensity of collection brought about by the apportionment of the land into the mu and the integration of the gentry to pay the grain. The difference in the efficiency of financial implementation is also a very important factor.

In the Ming Dynasty, the financial chaos system was not corrupt or chaotic, and it could last for more than 200 years before it collapsed, and it was even more smoke from the ancestral tomb......

So as long as Shen Yichen goes to check the accounts, he will definitely be able to find out the fault and ask for the guilt!

Seeing that all the officials did not speak, the political envoy Hong Yingqing coughed, and then spoke: "Colleagues, Shen Yanxian is the imperial history of the imperial court to rectify the history and politics, and you should cooperate, how can you shirk when you encounter difficulties?" ”

"In this way, the officials are in charge, and the colleagues of the Shandong Political Secretary will find a way to levy 50,000 taels of silver from the state capitals to support Shen Qixian's disaster relief and flood control. As parents and officials, we should put the people first! ”

Except for the "special envoys" sent by the governor, the political envoy is the official governor of a province. Therefore, as soon as Hong Ying made a decision here, the official of the Shandong Political Department over there immediately nodded and agreed: "What the clan said is very true, as a pro-people official, how can we shirk because of the current predicament?" ”

"Shen Yixian's water control is in the present generation, and the benefits are in the future, and we will fully cooperate!"

"Even if the local yamen is hungry, the lower officials must gather the money for disaster relief, and they can't let the people suffer!"

"The feudal platform and the constitution are sympathetic and love the people, and the lower officials should take it as an example."

The speed of this face change simply amazed Shen Yichen.

In the past, when he was in the center of the imperial court, he was surrounded by either high-ranking officials and ministers, or Hanlin Qinggui, no matter how bad he was, he was also that group of trolls.

Regardless of whether the literati style and bones are said or practiced, at least everyone is a face.

Millions of victims in Shandong are floating corpses all over the field, and the situation has eroded like this, and I am embarrassed to say that as a pro-people official, I would rather suffer myself than the people suffer, and I really don't want to lose my face.

50,000 taels of silver may seem like a lot, but it is a drop in the bucket for large-scale water conservancy projects and large-scale disaster relief.

You must know that Shen Yichen pursued the taxes and grains of several large households in Yanggu County, and converted them into more than 30,000 taels of silver, and the entire Shandong Chengxuan Political Department gritted his teeth and squeezed only 50,000 taels?

Hong Ying's move is to retreat into advance, what about the lake?

"The big man of the Hong Domain, this official thinks that it must be worth 500,000 taels, otherwise it will not damage the prestige of the Hong Domain?"

Shen Yichen no longer has the patience to play with this group of magistrates, he just wants to make money now, and then enter Zhang Qiu Town to control the water.

Since Hong Ying, the chief official of a province, stood up, Shen Yichen simply beat the snake and forced him to make a statement.

"What are Shen Yanxian's words, how can a provincial finance be so frivolous and casual, could it be that Jingshi is prosperous and flashes his eyes, thinking that 500,000 taels is a small amount?"

Feeling the aggressiveness of Shen Yichen's words, Hong Ying's tone also became tough.

It's good that Hong Ying is also a member of the second rank, and as a political envoy, he is in charge of the party. Shen Yichen didn't give face in front of his subordinates, if he didn't show a tough attitude, how would he serve his subordinates in the future?

"Of course, 500,000 is not a small amount, but the huge Shandong can't even levy 500,000 taels, and the official has reason to suspect that the deficit is serious!"

Shen Yichen continued to be aggressive, and he made up his mind that if the officials of the Shandong Political Department did not comply, then he would go to the Yamen of the Political Secretary overnight to check the accounts.

There is no need to even check the accounts in person, because the imperial history of the Ming Dynasty has the same power as the official in the town, and he can ask for the crime if he suspects that he is greedy for ink and is lacking.

If you don't get a few local officials off the horse, do you really take your own imperial history as the wind in your ears?

Seeing that the situation had a tendency to be exhausted, Governor Zhang Ji stood up and spoke to be this red-faced peacemaker.

"Shen Yixian, 500,000 taels of Shandong state capitals really can't be requisitioned, and I hope to understand the difficulties of the local government."

"Controlling the flooding of the Yellow River is a matter for the benefit of all the people in Shandong, and all colleagues must do their part to overcome all difficulties, or take a step back, how about taking 200,000 taels of silver?"

From 500,000 taels to 200,000 taels, is this called taking a step back?

The Dragon Slayer Knife is nothing more than that.

Just when Shen Yichen was about to bargain, Zhang Ji looked at him and said: "Shen Yixian, not only you alone have the right to do things in the Shandong realm, but the official can also go directly to the Holy Hearing!" ”

"Passing the buck to each other has delayed the construction period of the river project, and it is the common people who suffer."

Zhang Ji made it very clear, if Shen Yichen continued to "mess around", then he would also go to the court to fight the cannon.

If the two great gods of a province oppose each other and attack each other, it will be like a party dispute at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and everyone will fall into internal friction and stop doing anything. When the flood season resumes again, in addition to the suffering of the people, Shen Yichen will also be held accountable for his failure to control the flood, which can be described as a lose-lose situation.

"Okay, it's just 200,000 taels, and I invite all my colleagues to be fast!"

is different from the picture imagined by Zhang Ji, Shen Yichen suddenly made a 180-degree turn, and immediately agreed, which was really unexpected.

In fact, Shen Yichen also knew very well that it was impossible for the Shandong local government to come up with 500,000 taels of silver.

The reason why the sky-high asking price is that the Ming officialdom pays attention to a moderation, and it will definitely not agree to ask for 200,000 taels directly. And when the lion opens his mouth and says 500,000 taels, they will compromise and reconcile, and feel that 200,000 taels is acceptable.

Shen Yichen thought that his theory was perfect, but he didn't know that he was only on the first layer, and Zhang Ji's follow-up methods had already reached the fifth layer!

After negotiating the requisition of the silver money of the provincial capitals in Shandong, Shen Yichen immediately ordered the Dongchang Guard Army to escort the people in Hewan to Zhangqiu Town, where the embankment was broken, and built a camp there to prepare for the follow-up cash-for-work.

Another day later, the soldiers of the 3,000 guards of Tai'anwei were recruited and rushed to Yanggu County under the leadership of Han Bin, the commander, which was regarded as a solution to the problem of lack of manpower.

It's just that Tai'anwei didn't come alone, only less than two hours later, the soldiers of Jinan Wei's 5,000 guards, under the leadership of the commander Tongzhi, also came to Yanggu County.

But the problem is that Shen Yichen did not recruit soldiers from Jinan Wei, and unlike Tai'anwei, who was only a hundred miles away, even if they went down the Yellow River by boat, it was impossible to go to Yanggu County in a short time.

Then the answer is obvious, they were dispatched by Governor Zhang Ji!

"The proprietor, Zhang Ji transferred the sergeant of Jinan Wei, I'm afraid things are not simple."

Bian He looked at the Jinan guard sergeant who was going to the county office, and said to Shen Yichen with a solemn face.

"Actually, it's not that complicated, it's just to be strong for yourself."

Shen Yichen didn't believe that Zhang Ji had any disobedience, even if he didn't deal with himself, it would be impossible to transfer the soldiers of the guard to besiege him.

The reason why there is such a big fanfare is probably because he learned of Meng Anwei's death on the road, so he transferred troops to protect him, and at the same time he could kill his own arrogance.

Shen Yichen's guess was only half right, Zhang Ji did learn of Meng Anwei's death on the way. But he mobilized the soldiers of Jinan Wei, not to protect the guards and pretend to be a momentum, but to plan it before.

It's just that Jinan Wei is far away from Yanggu County, and the soldiers of the guard post are marching slowly, so it has been delayed to this day.

"Mr. Bian, is the county government properly arranged for the transportation of grain?"

"It has been arranged, and it can be loaded and transported to Zhangqiu Town within three days."

"Okay, let's leave for Zhang Qiuzhen immediately."

Shen Yichen and Bian He stood at the gate of the county ya, not to observe the Jinan Wei sergeant coming, but to prepare to leave for Zhang Qiu Town.

Now that the rice, grain, and silver money for disaster relief have been completed, the next step is the real task of Shen Yichen to go out of the town of Shandong to control the water. He doesn't need to continue to stay in Yanggu County, and accompany this group of officials of the Shandong Political Department to be false and polite, it's time to do the practical work of Daxing water conservancy.

Zhang Qiu Town is not far from Yanggu County, and the straight-line distance is about 20 kilometers. But because last year's floods damaged the roads, the road was muddy and far less smooth than the waterway.

Shen Yichen and his entourage set off at noon and did not come to Zhang Qiuzhen until nightfall.

Zhang Qiu doesn't look at it as a town, and the prosperity in the Ming and Qing dynasties is not inferior to that of the ordinary county seat. Because it is located at the intersection of Shouzhang, Dong'e and Yanggu counties, and is also one of the five commercial ports on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, it is almost equivalent to the port city of later generations.

Therefore, in the most prosperous period of the whole town, there were nine gates, nine gates, seventy-two streets, and eighty-two alleys, and Yanggu County was slightly inferior.

But this time, Shen Yichen came to the place where Zhang Qiu's eyes went, basically except for the ruins and broken walls, there were all kinds of barren grasses.

The reason is that after the estuary burst, the huge amount of water in the Yellow River almost washed away the entire town, and all the houses collapsed, and the water depth was as high as several zhang.

Even now, during the dry winter season, the flood has long since receded, and it is still full of devastation.

However, compared to the most tragic moment, now the Dongchang Guards have begun to rebuild their houses and residences on the basis of the ruins, so that the victims of the disaster on the road have a place to live.

And no matter how much the flood destroys, compared with the barren part of the wilderness, at least there are some building foundations here, and the amount of construction work is less.

It's just that soon Shen Yichen realized that something was wrong, and he issued an edict a few days ago, calling on the victims from all over the three provinces to go to Zhangqiu Town for relief. Based on the current base of disaster victims, plus the growth rate of displaced people in Yanggu County during this period.

If nothing else, at least tens of thousands of victims of the disaster will come here to seek help.

And now at a glance, plus the victims who migrated from Yanggu County and the Dongchang Guard, the scale of the number is not as good as the number of victims in the river bay, which seems very abnormal.

"Wu Dong, in addition to opening a porridge shed in the town, have you also set up a porridge shed in other places?"

Shen Yichen called Wu Dong over and asked, the number of people here is really wrong.

"Returning to the constitution, he only opened a porridge shed in the town, and there was nowhere else, and there were only so many victims here."

Hearing Wu Dong's answer, Shen Yichen had a puzzled expression on his face, where did everyone go?