Seeing that several people looked excited, Zhu Youjian smiled, "Each of the four Aiqing recommends one, and I will decide it myself after consideration." ”

"Huh? What do we recommend? Who do you recommend? Familiar people are either in Nanjing and will be imprisoned sooner or later, or they are already in prison, how can those new officials take on this big responsibility with shallow resumes? ”

Four people, you look at me, I look at you, urgent eye contact.

Shi Bangyao spoke: "The minister recommends Fan Jingwen." ”

Ling Yiqu came out: "The minister recommends Ni Yuanlu." ”

Fan Jingwen took a step forward: "The minister recommends Ling Yiqu." ”

Ni Yuanlu said slowly: "The minister recommends Shi Bangyao. ”

"Alright, I know what you mean!" Zhu Youjian said angrily, what is arrogance, this is.

Yes, these people are loyal, but they also form cliques.

"Look at this and give your opinions." Zhu Youjian terminated their drama and asked Tian Shouxin to give them a note.

The four of them were very curious, Ni Yuanlu took it, hurriedly opened it, and the other three stretched out their heads to look.

"Reform the tax system? This is a major matter of the country! Which important minister didn't even discuss it with his colleagues! The four of them were surprised and read carefully.

It was Kong Mengchang who played the sparse role, a name that no one had ever heard of, and eighty percent was the new official this time.

"Hmph, it's only been a month since I took office, and I dare to talk about the Ming tax system, it's really a new calf!" Fan Jingwen slandered.

I saw that it was written: The minister heard that last year, the imperial court earned 4.29 million taels of silver and 16 million stones of grain, and only the Liaodong army salary was withdrawn nearly 2.4 million taels, and the bandits were used another 1.8 million taels......

The minister looked at the old files, in the first year of Chongzhen, the imperial court earned 5.2 million taels of silver and 26 million stones of grain.

I have seen such a gap for more than ten years, why not? Although natural and man-made disasters are continuous, the whole country cannot suffer disasters everywhere and make trouble every day......

It's all due to tax loopholes! I thought it was ......

When Ni Yuanlu saw this, he sighed slightly in his heart, this should be a financial and tax talent, there is no nonsense about singing merits and virtues, there are no vague words about rumors, all supported by data, very convincing, so I read it patiently.

Throughout this dynasty, during the Hongwu period, the salt tax accounted for about sixty percent of the annual income, and when Emperor Shenzong was the emperor, the annual salt tax was more than two million taels, but in the last year, it was only one million taels.

The salt tax was divided into two parts, one of which was the salt banknote, that is, the poll tax, which was levied by the magistrates, and there was no reduction in this part.

The second is to pay the silver, that is, the merchant pays the tax, and after paying the tax, he can get the salt and resell the salt. This part of the gap is very large.

The minister thought that there were many tax evaders, and there were even more people who owed taxes, and there were many people who had private salt......

The four of them hurriedly read it, and they already understood what Chongzhen meant. Now that the imperial court has stopped paying three salaries and stopping the field tax, in order to balance the revenue and expenditure, it is necessary to rectify the salt tax, and there will definitely be tea tax and iron tax in the future, which are bound to be rectified one by one.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty knew about the disadvantages of the salt administration, and the four people present knew it well, and the reason why they did not say it was because of various considerations.

Fan Jingwen said: "This person is a great talent, and what he says is also reasonable, but the salt tax is complicated, and if it is rectified all at once, I am afraid that there will be chaos." ”

"Well, keep your word."

When Tian Shouxin heard this, he unfolded a note and read it out in the vernacular:

"According to the calculation of 70 million people, each person consumes five catties of salt per year, a total of 350 million catties a year, 430 catties of salt, four coins of silver, plus the annual income of salt money, there can be 7.5 million salt tax revenue a year."

Hearing such a large amount of income, the four of them were shocked and stammered.

Zhu Youjian is quite satisfied with this effect, "The salt tax is like this, and the tea tax is even more so, I feel that now I have to take drastic medicine to rectify it!" ”

"I'm afraid of a civil change!" Fan Jingwen once again reiterated his views.

"Is the agrarian revolution fierce or not, and has the people changed? The salt policy is so erosive, is it because the people are doing it? It's not the corrupt officials and the salt merchants who are oblivious to their interests that are in the way! ”

Zhu Youjian said loudly.

"If they dare to resist, I will be happy to steal their property!"

Hearing Chongzhen's words, the more excited they became, Ni Yuanlu and the others instantly understood what he meant, it turned out that the saint not only wanted to rectify the salt administration, but also targeted the private property of the salt merchants.

If those giants in Jiangnan knew, wouldn't they resist desperately?

"Your Majesty, salt merchants are all franchises, this is the privilege given to them by the Ming Dynasty, it has been like this for three hundred years, and the ancestral system cannot be moved!"

"The ancestral system made them greedy for ink and fish and flesh? The ancestral system made them owe taxes and evade taxes? The ancestral system made them see that the capital city could not break the bank-funded army? Zhu Youjian roared.

Seeing that Chongzhen took out the Jingshi City to talk about the matter, plus the salt merchant and the salt official really broke the law, Ni Yuanlu couldn't answer, so he had to retreat.

You go back and come up with a practical new law on salt and tea taxes, and discuss it in the court on a later date.

"Yes!" The four of them said in unison.

"Okay, I've been on the road for five days in a row, I'm very sleepy, you guys stand down, and remember to make a tax reform plan."

"Obey the order, the ministers will retire!" The four of them saluted, got up and took two steps back, turned around and walked out of the hall.

"Shi Bangyao stays for a while." Zhu Youjian suddenly spoke.

The four of them were stunned, recovered instantly, and left slowly. Shi Bangyao turned around and returned to the hall.

Chongzhen chatted with him about the specific details of pacifying Shandong, and he reported everything in detail, but most of them were mediocre, and he actually said some words about the cooperation of the officials and gentry, and the words loved by the people, which were boring.

Zhu Youjian gave him a few words of encouragement and let him leave.

In the afternoon of the same day, there was heavy news in Jingshi, and Emperor Chongzhen reorganized the cabinet.

The first assistant Li Banghua, the second assistant Shi Bangyao, the third assistant Kong Mengchang, the fourth assistant Gaodi, and the fifth assistant are still vacant, and there is no candidate for the time being.

Ni Yuanlu, Fan Jingwen and Ling Yiqu were shocked when they heard it, they didn't have their names, but Shi Bangyao's name was impressively listed.

Li Banghua's entry into the cabinet is a sure thing, although Gao Di is a military general, but in this period, it can be said that he can act like this, but what kind of goods is Kong Mengchang, just because of that sparseness?

Especially thinking that Emperor Chongzhen finally left Shi Bangyao behind, what did the two monarchs and ministers say, they actually abandoned the three of them and lifted Shi Bangyao to the height of the second assistant.

It's puzzling.

Shi Bangyao went to Fan Jingwen's house that night, Yan Ming didn't know why he became the second assistant, the three of them all congratulated respectfully, and sent off the guests politely, without saying anything else.

On the second day, news came out from the palace that the five auxiliary places were selected among Ni Yuanlu, Fan Jingwen, and Ling Yiqu.

"Why, it was natural for the four of me and Li Banghua to enter the cabinet, why did we want to remove the two of them, but only Shi Bangyao was left?"

"Who does Your Majesty like more?" All three were skeptical.

In the palace, Zhu Youjian saw the secret performance of the Long Army, and roughly understood the discussion of the courtiers, and even knew Shi Bangyao's small actions and Ni Yuanlu's reactions.

In this regard, Zhu Youjian was very satisfied, "Want to form a gang under my nose? Hmph, I just see how you fight and how you doubt each other! ”