Chapter 253 Haze

Suncheonfu.

In recent months, the atmosphere in Beijing has been extremely depressing and dignified.

The war outside the customs was quite unfavorable, and Jiannu's arrogance was very arrogant. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Ming army has been strategically on the defensive and its morale is very low. Since the Li clan of Liaodong has declined, especially after the battle of Salhu, although everyone still looks down on them, no one will believe the nonsense that a mere ugly capsular.

The policy of the imperial court also changed from time to time, one moment was to gather the elite of the nine borders to suppress it, one time it was the Liao people to defend the Liao soil, and the other time it was to transfer the southwestern barbarian soldiers to attack the poison with poison...... As a result, after a defeat and a defeat, he sent materials to the Jurchens in vain, raised troops, and sent people to train their courage, not to mention that the southwest, which could barely be maintained, was born again, and a rebellion of luxury and peace shook the foundation of the empire!

However, the haze that shrouded the hearts of the people of Jingshi has little to do with these things. Thousands of miles away in the borderland, it is not your own money that is spent, and it is not your own people who die, whether you win or lose, you will either have some benefits, or seize the opportunity to kick a few feet of the guys who have long been unpleasant, or, both...... Hit it! In the Ming officialdom, as long as you master a simple trick, you can be invincible - that is: you must fight, fight to the death, fight at all costs!

If you can fight, you have to fight, but if you can't fight, you have to fight - if you don't fight, you don't love Daming! As long as you occupy this moral high ground and put your attitude impeccable, even if you break into a big disaster, no one will be helpless about you: Love Daming, righteousness comes first, is it wrong?

Most of the adults are old foxes who have read the books of the sages thoroughly. What does the book of sages say? What is said in "Hengqu Quotations" is simply great: set up a heart for heaven and earth, ask for life for the people, continue to learn for the saints, and open peace for all generations. It's catchy, whoever reads it is the embodiment of justice, impassioned!

Really?

Fake, of course.

Hey, fool fool.

Don't be unconvinced, just ask you one sentence: Is there a word in these sentences that is really human words?

What is Lixin? How to stand? Don't talk about heaven and earth - long before there were no sages, long after thousands of years when you were rotten and gone, heaven and earth will still be there, do you need to erect anything?

Asking for the lives of the people? Hehe, forget it. Let's talk about someone everyone knows, Qin Hui. A traitor and traitor who has been stinking for thousands of years, right? The illiterate rural contempts take the storytelling as a real thing and don't care about it, the adults have read the official history, and they all know that the real Song Dynasty can't beat Dajin, and they all know who Grandpa Yue died in, and they also know that Qin Hui, who is already under one person, can't get more benefits even if he sells the Great Song Dynasty again, let alone ask for the life of the weed-like people, for hundreds of years, thousands of impassioned adults who have learned and become rich, has one person said a word about this? It's not all broken drums!

The adults who have read the books of the sages have only seen through one thing: in this land, it is always the one who has the most bottomless bottom line!

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu had no bottom line, beat Song Xianggong twice, and won.

Warring States, Qin had no bottom line, beat the six countries, and won.

Dahan, Liu Bang, who has no bottom line, beat Xiang Yu, who has a bottom line, and wins.

Datang, Li Shimin, who has no bottom line, killed his brother and forced his father to win.

Da Song, okay, Zhao Kuangyin can't say that there is no at all, the bottom line is relatively low, bullying orphans and widows to make a mutiny in Chenqiao, and won.

The great grandfather of this dynasty...... I can't say it, even if Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang and other folk reputations are good, anyway, Fu Youde and Lanyu are all guilty of ten thousand deaths, cough cough, grandpa won hemp.

Therefore, whether it is the northeast or the southwest, even if it is a thousand miles of dry bones and wild land, adults have one word: fight! There's nothing to hold back.

What made the adults depressed was the damn eunuch Li Shizhong.

War is a gold-swallowing beast that costs untold amounts of money. However, Daming is so big, and there are so many people, 60 million dings, everyone just pays a little, what's the big deal? However, the abominable eunuch actually turned his brain to the head of the reader. Isn't it a matter of course that the dynasty treats scholars preferentially, and those who have meritorious names are exempted from land taxation and labor for their families? The people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have sent too many pillars to the imperial court, and some giant businessmen have donated their fame. Unexpectedly, the grace of the dynasty was coveted by Li Shizhong - he actually began to find the squires to collect taxes!

Actually, some people have wanted to do this for a long time, but they can't push it down. Because you don't see that the scholars are powerless, they have a unique job: crying!

Make an appointment with a group of colleagues, choose a good day, and everyone run to the Temple of Literature together, kneel down in front of the statue of Old Master Confucius, tear open their throats, and cry. If the scholars take a collective walk and sprinkle this kind of thing, the magistrate will definitely have to report it, the county governor will report to the prefect, and the prefect will report to the feudal division, and then it will go straight to the heavens! Whether it is the six departments or the three law divisions in the court, at least on this issue, they are all in the same spirit: as soon as this case is opened, it will be inevitable for their own family! So under the raging discussion, it was over.

The only exception before was the Emperor Daozong, who asked for money and shamelessness, asked the eunuch to open the mining tax, no matter how the ministers cried blood and begged for their lives, they all pretended not to hear when they went to Xiyuan. Li Shizhong is even more vicious, he will instruct Dongchang to fabricate charges, and all disobedient officials will be arrested and tortured in prison in every way, and even beat and killed a few people; The same was done locally, several rich families were killed, the exile of their families ended, and all their wealth and fields were confiscated! The chickens were killed to set an example to the monkeys, and the bloody heads were hung at the city gates, and those taxes were really collected.

Mine taxes, salt taxes, sea taxes, and commercial taxes have been collected! Indeed, the treasury of the Ming Dynasty has been enriched, the internal treasury of the Son of Heaven has also been enriched, the Yellow River has also been repaired, and the victims of disasters in Henan, Shaanxi and other places have also been relieved...... But there must be an increase and a decrease, which of the adults who have been severely discharged with blood at home can swallow this breath? It's just that this guy is quite trusted by the Son of Heaven, and everyone doesn't dare to show it on their faces, let alone dare to speak, so they all hold their breath.

Everyone is also privately rumoring that the early death of the prince hit the Son of Heaven very hard. The Holy Son of Heaven is not in good health, and it has been a long time since he left the dynasty. A while ago, the little eunuch went out of the palace to buy sour apricots, and everyone was very happy in private: if any lady gave birth to a dragon, it would be the Ming Dynasty that had the country's foundation! This is the case for the Son of Heaven, if he can get a bachelor's job as a bachelor...... It is likely that it will not be a few years, and he will be the emperor of the master! No matter how crazy Li Biao is, he is just a domestic slave of the Son of Heaven, in front of the emperor, wouldn't he have to be like a dog! It's a pity that one mother gave birth to a princess, and the other died before full-term, but she was still a dragon!

The spirit of the Son of Heaven was even more depressed. According to the news from the palace, two more mothers have been happy, but recently the sky has been different, and some people have seen the broom star streaked across the sky for several nights, which is by no means a good sign! So everyone shouted long live our emperor, and they all had a terrible thought in their hearts: Can the saint survive until the dragon son is born?

The younger brother of the Son of Heaven, King Cheng, was already fifteen years old. It stands to reason that in normal times, someone should have proposed that a prince of this age should go to the feudal domain, but the righteous gentlemen of the Manchu Dynasty were silent, and everyone seemed to have forgotten about it!

Of course, if you understand this phenomenon as a state that cannot be left without an owner for a day, it is not impossible for everyone to work together for the country, and adults want you to think so. However, this is because you have not read the sages thoroughly. What if you think a little deeper? For example, if you propose to invite King Cheng's kingdom, whether the Son of Heaven is approved or not, in case one day in the near future, the Son of Heaven will ride the dragon and King Cheng will enter the palace and succeed the unification...... Will you have any good fruit to eat at that time?

Sunlight shines through the half-open wooden door and sprinkles on the thick carpet, revealing a light and shadow of the land, and a faint scent of sandalwood spreads leisurely in the air. On the wooden shelves, there are all kinds of calligraphy and paintings, from the ancient and elegant green rust mottled bronzes to the exquisite and delicate Yuan blue and white books, as well as those ancient books with a slight yellow color, all of which silently tell the vicissitudes of time. Time seems to freeze here, and the whole store exudes a quiet and unique atmosphere.

Located near the Tianning Temple in western Beijing, Jigu Zhai is an antique shop. However, if you come a few times, you will find that, unlike most of its peers, this store sells a lot of goods, and the main items are always specific ones. Take the most conspicuous peony plum vase, for example, which has been in and out more than a dozen times, and each time it is bought, it will reappear in the store shortly after it is bought. Is the price also two thousand two hundred taels that can't be deceived by thunder - well, it's a bit expensive, but there are always people who buy it, and they can't do anything about it?

Behind the façade is a small courtyard, the east and west sides of the guest rooms are quite elegantly cleaned, and several Taihu Lake stone rockeries in the middle of the yard are just right to separate the two sides, which protects the privacy of the guests to the greatest extent. At this moment, the door of the west wing is half open, indicating that the two distinguished guests in the east wing can talk with confidence. There is a red rope hanging down from the window near the door, and if you pull it, a crisp bell rings outside the courtyard, and the men who are waiting by will immediately come lightly to listen to the orders of your guests.

Although the two distinguished guests in the east room are dressed as ordinary people, there is a faint sense of officialdom in their gestures - it is no wonder that these two are Xie Anning, the Shaanxi Qing official of the household department, and Qiu Baoguo, the Sichuan Qing official Shilang.

I only heard Qiu Baoguo sigh: "If it goes on like this, I don't think this store will be open for a long time." ”

Xie Anning smiled faintly: "I think Brother Bijiang is a little worried." In my opinion, the tide rises and falls, and it won't be long before we have to be nephews playing lanterns - Uncle Zhao (old). ”

Qiu Baoguo said angrily: "Zhiyuan, you don't have a backache when you stand and talk, and it's not you who are in Shaanxi Province. In other words, the write-off of military spending in Sichuan Province must have 20,000 taels of oil head, right? This is just the money and food that our household department is responsible for, and the verification and write-off of the first battle and military funds on the side of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry will not be less! This is good, the eunuch inserts this bar vertically and horizontally, and the rules and etiquette of the adults go to ninety percent, our buddy's hard-earned money, hum, then don't even think about it! ”

"Be cautious and cautious!" Xie Zhiyuan raised his finger and put his finger on his lips and shh The one who won the Sacred Heart, Lord Shangshu and Lord Yushi, the deputy capital, said to take it, what can you and I count? How many adults have died in the prison of the Suppression Division for unknown reasons, but does anyone dare to ask? ”

Qiu Baoguo sighed heavily: "Alas. I'm not in a hurry. In the past, not to mention the degree of water control used by the river governor, the military expenses of the provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, and the few things in this store should have turned around four or five times, five or six times a long time ago, right? In other words, Brother Zhiyuan, aren't you in a hurry? ”

Qiu Baoguo said this because the cost write-off system of the Ming Dynasty was completely broken by Li Shizhong.

The reimbursement of money and grain in each province must be submitted to the Son of Heaven after being reviewed by the Ministry of Households, and the Son of Heaven is just going through the motions, and the royal pen is approved and then transferred back to the Ministry of Households, and the account is settled. Especially in those provinces where there are military disasters, in addition to money and food, clothing and military materials must be submitted to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry and other departments to go through the same process. The money must first be advanced by the provinces themselves - that is, if they are stuck in the ministries, the holes in the provinces will always be open and exposed. Of course, it includes the salaries of the officials of the prefectures and counties below, the money and grain that should be sent to the capital, the necessary expenses for levying and distributing grain, and the various things such as building bridges and roads for disaster relief and flood control...... You can't be left behind, otherwise, the plan will be waiting to be taken off!

Few of the scholars and squires of the various ministries can settle accounts. Adults who have read poetry books can become poems in seven steps, but if you want them to pull the abacus beads, it will be difficult for a strong man. These things are all done by the officials of the six departments, that is, Lang Zhong and the chief bookkeepers. Of course, the officials are all from the right path, and they are also not very good at settling accounts, but they have the help of their masters! Moreover, they have the ability to do what all adults can do but are embarrassed to do blatantly: collect money.

Let's take an analogy. If there is chaos in a certain province, the officers and troops must go over to quell the rebellion, right? No matter how you deduct it on weekdays, as long as there are no groups of starving people in the camp, the court will turn a blind eye and pretend not to see and fool the past. If this kind of thing really happens, those martial artists will have to inch in! The troops should be paid double salaries for the opening of the army, and even three times the salary for the battle, all kinds of merits should be rewarded, casualties should be compensated, and the guest army should be doubled, and the consumption of grain, grass and military resources is even more lion's mouth...... Spending a million taels a year will definitely save you money. Are you looking for the imperial court to write off? Hehe, the adults in the various departments are so busy with work, wait! What, rush? Hmph, you dare! How many years have you been doing this, pick a format error from you and type it back to rewrite, what's the matter next year! Wait until the turn of the year...... Hey, guess what? Ha, you guessed it, there's a typo! It is written off for three years and five years, and it is also it for ten years and eight years, and you still can't say anything - is it wrong for Langzhong to be conscientious and careful for the country? !

Want to get checked fast? Finding fewer faults and cutting fewer projects? Yes, pay the money! There are generally rules for this money, which is about one to two percent of the total amount. Hence the creation of an exclusive term: ministry fee.

The ministry fee is an expense other than the account, where to get it? Hehe, as the saying goes, the wool comes out of the pig, and guess what?

Congratulations, you guessed it right again. But I bet the next question won't be easy for you to guess.

How do adults such as Shangshu Shilang collect money?

"My lord, these five thousand taels are a little bit of a humble heart, you can take it."

You dare to say that, you must be called out on the spot by the adult: bold and talented, dare to openly bribe and insult the court officials!

You ran all the way to Beijing with the high hopes of Lord Fuzun, and it was easy to befriend Lord Langzhong, and he came up with a bunch of reasons to send a few hundred taels, and he threw down a sentence when he was full of wine and food: "Ming'er, you go to the adults to say goodbye, and your eyes are brighter." ”

"What do you mean by a lively look? How do you live a wide life? "You've been thinking about it all night and you haven't figured it out. Early the next morning, you really saw the adults, and peeked at it: Yo ho, why are the plum bottles on the adults not paired?

When the lord saw that you noticed, he smiled: "Hey, let your lord see and smile." How did this thing come about, but unfortunately it broke one by mistake. Don't look at it worth ten taels of silver, the old man misses the old and has never been willing to throw it away, so put it there. Oh yes, how is the year in your province? Before you could answer two sentences, the adult took a sip of the teacup, and you were sent out of the house in a daze.

At noon that day, you were invited by Lord Langzhong to have a sumptuous light meal that of course you pay, intentionally or unintentionally walked near Tianning Temple, of course, you slipped into the door of Ji Gu Zhai, and then found that plum bottle that happened to be exactly the same as the adult!

The adults said that a pair is not worth ten taels of silver, and here one sells for two thousand two hundred taels.

Is it expensive? If you are too expensive, hehe, I can only say that Lord Fuzun is blind, why did he send you. Verification? Go home and wait!

Understand?

It's such a big province, Lord Fuzun definitely didn't send you because you were the best bargaining in the province, and it wasn't because you were born with a good sense of everything, and you actually found that the thing that was bought and sent to the adults a few days ago actually went back to the store and placed in the same place again, right?

Of course, Ji Gu Zhai is the point of the household department, which is much the same, and each department also has its own unique way. Originally, everything was running in an orderly manner, but Li Shizhong's father-in-law's hand was getting longer and longer, and not only did he install his people in the six departments, but he also took care of everything, and the verification and write-off of the provinces was of course the top priority, and this financial road was blocked. Li Shizhong is not a saint, he collects the same money, but it is much cheaper to fill one person's appetite than to fill in a large group of evil wolves, and the efficiency is too high.

Therefore, Qiu Baoguo was a little worried that this Jigu Zhai would be able to open for a few more days.

Listening to Qiu Baoguo's questioning, Xie Anning smiled again: "Brother Bijiang, don't worry, you are right, I am really not in a hurry." As for why I'm not in a hurry, the answer has already been said by yourself. ”