After the rest left, Cui Yuan stayed on Zhu Houxi's side for the time being.

"Your Majesty, think twice!"

His expression looked worried, because Zhu Houxi had revealed the news that made Cui Yuan uneasy when he was discussing with Zhang Fujing just now about Shandong's restructuring strategy for Linqing Banknote Customs.

As a counselor and an uncle, Cui Yuan had to raise his concerns.

Zhu Houxi looked at him for a moment, and then said, "Tell me what you are worried about." ”

Cui Yuan has served as a counselor for three years, and he no longer has the idleness to avoid things at the beginning, but shows his ability.

Without thinking, he blurted out: "From the beginning of the Yongle period to set up the 42 guards of the transportation army, through the branch transportation method, the redemption method, and the change method, to the Chenghua period became customized. Now there are 12 Cao troops, adding up to more than 120,000 people. ”

Seeing that Zhu Houxi's expression had not changed, he continued: "Although so many Cao soldiers are no longer able to fight, they are still in the guard, and they have relied on Cao Yun for a living. In addition, many of the Cao soldiers and military families have fled, and there are empty salaries, and nearly half or even more than half of the more than 10,000 Cao ships are now employing sailors and lifu. ”

Zhu Houxi added: "The Cao boat is tax-free, in order to make it able to transport a full quota of 4 million stone grain to Beijing every year, during the Hongzhi period, it was promised that each ship of soldiers could carry less than 10 stone of Tuyi. As a matter of fact, grain ships carried more smuggled goods than official goods, and each ship's grain was no more than five or six hundred stones, and the amount of smuggled goods loaded was several times greater. There are also grain ships with long and wide compartments, and more beams and woods, and they do not hesitate to drift and accept punishment, only hoping that the profits of goods trafficking are more than the fines. These goods are all involved in the gentry and merchants, as well as the government along the canal. ”

Looking at Cui Yuan, he paused and then said directly: "Talk about the point." ”

Cui Yuan is entangled in these points: the emperor seems to know a lot about the disadvantages of love, but he still has this meaning.

"Your Majesty, it's easy to mess up and don't say anything, chaos can eventually be calmed. But the capital is inseparable from the grain sent by Cao Yun every year, if there is no Cao army, then it is necessary to recruit the people, to support the transportation law, the exchange of the law to carry out, within a few years, can be transported to the capital of the grain, I am afraid that greatly reduced! ”

He hesitated for a moment, and then added again: "Even if it imitates the system of the Emperor's Ming Record, it is too difficult to straighten out the matter of Caoyun, mainly because it is too important, the journey is too long, and there are too many people." ”

In the words of Zhu Houxi and Zhang Fujing, they faintly revealed that in the future, no matter whether they are boats or civilian ships, as long as they carry goods and sell them along the way, they will be taxed at the banknote customs.

The reason why the imperial court allowed the Cao army to bring goods was because the cost of transporting grain for the 120,000 Cao army was really high, so it opened a back door for them.

Now, if he does this, the only possibility that Cui Yuan can think of is that he may transform the Cao Army into a behemoth like Huang Mingji, and use the procurement method to change its nature as an official merchant to transport grain for the government.

But the calculation of the interests involved in this is too big, and Cui Yuan is really not sure.

Zhu Houxi understands what he means: the main thing is human nature.

Thousands of kilometers of canals are involved, and the livelihood of millions of people is involved, and the gray area cannot be eliminated. However, it is also inevitable to set the capital in Beijing and resist the consumption of food in the north.

If you want to move this artery of the Ming Dynasty, it is easy to physically eliminate the turmoil on the bright surface, but there must be a safe alternative to ensure what the capital needs.

Zhu Houxi only calmed his emotions temporarily: "Don't worry, I said this to you, and I just said in advance about a major matter that I would consider next." What Shandong wants to do is only commercial law, tax law, and accounting law for the time being. Encouraging commerce is in line with the needs of Linqing and Shandong. I am not prepared to move the Cao army now, but the disadvantages of Cao Yun will have to be faced sooner or later. ”

His gaze glanced southward: "Together with the Huanghuai flood, we have to face it." ”

Before he set his sights further south, further north and east, there were too many internal problems in the Ming Dynasty that needed to be solved first, and he had a more solid foundation.

The problem of this transportation is not only related to the food and clothing of millions of workers, but also the accumulation of structure and technical means of the entire empire.

This move was made after the rebellion had been put down and the new law had been implemented throughout the country.

But when the wind blows out, the backlog of contradictions will slowly intensify, and the hidden contradictions will also be revealed.

It's better to solve it round by round than at once.

……

In Linqing City, many people spent a sleepless night.

In addition to Jiang Guanqing and the Wu shopkeeper, there is also Cao Jun Shandong's general Qi Yuanda.

The Cao army has a general soldier, supplemented by a general, and below it is the twelve generals.

This is always different from the one in Beijing.

The full name of the Shandong General Manager is the General Manager of the Shandong Metropolitan Division, which is generally concurrently served by the commander of the Shandong Metropolitan Government. In some provinces, if there is a general army, the commander must obey the command of the general army in wartime.

Under the general department of the Shandong capital of the Cao Army, there is a gang chief, who is generally filled by the commander of Wei or a person at the level of a thousand households. Below, there is a commander, and a captain is in charge of five ships and 50 troops. On each boat, a flag armor is set up, and according to the rules, a ten-person team is taken to transport grain.

In Shandong, because of the existence of Mount Tai, the pattern of the east and west sides is very different.

As mentioned earlier, Qi Jingtong served as a general commander of Caoyun and also served as the commander of the Shandong Reserve and Japanese Division, and actually controlled more troops in Shandong.

The basic plate of the Shandong capital commander Qi Yuanda is the Shandong General of the Cao Army located in the area of the Luxi Canal.

In total, there were more than 700 ships in Shandong, and nearly 8,000 troops were transported.

Linqing is the largest cargo transshipment center in the north of the canal, and the overall interests of Caojun Shandong are inseparable from Linqing.

Now Shandong is also going to try out the new law, and Qi Yuanda can't sit still.

Qi Yuan fidgeted all night, and at first, he didn't know what the emperor was going to do when he ordered him to stay in Linqing for seven days.

Now, he doesn't know if Shandong's trial of the new law will turn over the old accounts of the Cao army and the banknotes.

But the emperor is here, the five thousand elite soldiers of the Beijing camp are here, and Zhang Fujing's pacesetter battalion was also brought to Dongchang Mansion by Qi Jingtong and stationed in the south of Linqing City.

If you can't move, if you move, you're dead.

You can't stay still, and if you don't move, it's unpredictable.

Qi Yuanda stayed up all night, and he didn't wait for Jiang Guanqing to send someone to send a letter - the emperor was here, and he didn't even dare to send someone to send a letter to discuss, let alone meet him in person!

However, the countermeasures discussed before did not include the situation that the emperor wanted to try out the new law in Shandong.

In the early morning of the next day after being attacked by the emperor's decision, his own soldiers hurriedly ran to report: "Dutai, Li Fuzun, Tao Zhizhou, Director Jiang, Ma Gonggong, and Luo Yushi are all going to the other side!" ”

Qi Yuanda first stood up in shock, and then sat down again.

As the commander of Shandong, it is normal for him to be "clear-eyed" in Linqing City.

But so early, these people went to drive together, and naturally yesterday they received the order to go to His Majesty today.

The emperor called the three major members of the Dongchang Prefect, the Linqing Prefecture and the Linqing Banknote Pass, and there is no doubt that the focus is on the Linqing Banknote Pass.

The town is quiet, the town is quiet......

Qi Yuanda warned himself that the emperor was prepared and must not act rashly.

The jumping feet are all finished.

But Qi Yuanda couldn't suppress the fear in his heart, his mind was full of what the emperor would ask during the drive, and how Jiang Guanqing would answer.

Nearly an hour passed before someone came to report it, and they all left.

"How's it looking?" Qi Yuanda asked eagerly.

“…… Yudutai, if you want to say something, it seems that you are in a hurry to do something. ”

"Nothing else?"

"Nope."

Qi Yuanda hated this feeling.

If the emperor is not here, or even if Zhang Fujing and a few people such as Shandong Fantai and Zhentai are here, then Qi Yuanda will be the boss if he comes to Linqing.

But now, there are too many situations where Qi Yuanda can't know the situation at the first time.

If the matter has nothing to do with him, can the emperor send someone to inform him?

When he was entangled, he saw another personal soldier hurriedly running over: "Dutai, someone is coming." ”

Qi Yuanda didn't have time to think about it, so he hurriedly ran to the side of the main hall, only to see that the little eunuch saluted and said, "Qi Dutai, Your Majesty summons you." ”

“…… The minister was dressed and went with his father-in-law. Please wait and have a cup of tea first. ”

While wearing his official uniform, he was thinking: Who else has been summoned besides himself? Why did you see yourself just after meeting Jiang Guanqing? Was it sold?

He wanted to ask these answers after he came out, so he first handed a few gold leaves to the eunuch, and then asked with a smile: "What is the name of my father-in-law?" ”

This is a necessary temptation, and if you are willing to accept it, you will be able to ask other questions on the way.

Seeing his actions, the little eunuch hesitated for a moment, and then really accepted it, smiled and said: "Our family's cheap name is not enough to worry about, Qi Dutai calls me Liang Chong." ”

"Being able to drive south, Father-in-law Liang is humble." Qi Yuanda followed him as he walked out, and then asked in a low voice, "I wonder who else Your Majesty has summoned?" ”

Having already received the gold leaf, Qi Yuanda asked reassuringly.

If you can pass this level in front of you, you will be able to have one more line in the capital and in the palace in the future.

Although Gao Zhong also received a lot of money from him, he didn't reveal anything to himself this time. I don't know if he didn't know the meaning of the emperor's intention to try out the new law in Shandong, or if he deliberately concealed it.

Now, that Liang Chong replied truthfully: "Your Majesty only summoned Qi Dutai. ”

Qi Yuanda's heart jumped: "Father-in-law Liang knows...... So what's going on? ”

Liang Chong shook his head: "I came to summon Qi Dutai on the orders of Gonggong Huang, and I don't know the rest." ”

“…… Thank you Father-in-law Liang, I don't know where Father-in-law Liang is? I heard the accent like it was close to the Daimyo's house. ”

The Daimyo Mansion of Beizhili is located between Shandong and Henan, and is quite close to Linqing.

Liang Chong smiled when he heard this: "Qi Dutai has good ears, I am from Qingfeng County, the Daimyo Mansion." ”

Qi Yuanda couldn't get more information, so he just chatted with him along the way to get closer, and at the same time put on some information from Jiang Guanqing when they met before.

When he understood that Liang Chong was really just a little eunuch who accompanied him, and he was not qualified to serve in front of the emperor, Qi Yuanda felt sorry for his gold leaf and was a little angry at the same time.

Anyway, he is the commander of the Shandong capital, why is the person who came to summon him a nobody?

After he entered the Temple of Literature and arrived at the Pan Palace, and got the emperor's reply, Liang Chongcai walked in front of Huang Jin first, and obediently took out the gold leaves: "What Qi Dutai gave me is here." ”

Huang Jin sighed twice but didn't say much, just nodded: "Go and write it down." ”

"Yes......"

Huang Jin put the gold leaf into his arms, and then walked into the main hall where the emperor saw his subordinates, and Qi Yuanda had just finished his salute at this time.

Standing next to the emperor, the situation in the room was a little oppressive, and Huang Jin saw beads of sweat on Qi Yuan's big forehead.

The emperor sat on the throne, and beside him stood Huang Jin, and there were also the eunuchs of the Inner File Division and the two daily living notes who were now on the emperor's southern tour with the pen in their hands. If a few more servants stand on both sides with water and fire sticks in their hands, it will be like the emperor is in the hall to ask about the case.

"Give a seat."

Qi Yuan is as big as listening to the sound of immortals.

There is a small bench to sit on, which means that the emperor's attitude towards him is okay, and he is not here to ask for guilt.

He hurriedly thanked him and said that he didn't dare, and insisted on standing and listening to the oracle.

"When I said yesterday that there were many horses in Shandong, I saw that you looked very nervous. After thinking about it, I summoned you to ask, but what is the inside story? ”

"Back to ...... Back to Your Majesty, the minister is just ...... It's just that he was very frightened, worried that he would lose his hopes and have no way to defend the land. Qi Yuanda hurriedly said, "If you talk about the trouble of banditry, although the minister has not been able to suppress it, he will still ...... It's hard to be a big problem. ”

Zhu Houxi smiled and said, "Oh? At that time, the Marquis of Wuding asked for orders to suppress bandits on both sides of the Beizhili Canal, and listening to his report, several gangs of bandits fled to the border of Shandong. He was not ordered to leave Beizhili, so he had no choice but to give up. I haven't heard of all these gangs of bandits from the Shandong newspaper. However, in the past two years, there have been several hijackings of ships in this section of the Shandong section of Caojun and Shayang. ”

The beads of sweat on Qi Yuanda's head became bigger, and he quickly knelt down and said, "The minister is ashamed." Bandits come and go like the wind, and after they succeed, they often hide in the mountains of Shandong. If the army can enter the mountains to suppress the whole thing, it will cost a lot of money, but it will be a heavy matter, and the ministers will have to be more vigilant. ”

"Cao Yun is indeed a serious matter." Zhu Houxi looked at his lowered head deeply, "Now Shandong is still responsible for transporting new grain from Shandong to the south for disaster relief, so don't be targeted by bandits again and robbed." ”

“…… The ministers will do their best to never let the disaster relief food go wrong! ”

"Get up."

Zhu Houxi talked about the robbery of grain ships by bandits in Shanxi from Xiangma in Shandong, and mentioned the disaster relief grain transported from the south, although Qi Yuanda was frightened, his heart was a little more relaxed.

Since there is still a need for himself, he naturally will not go through any old accounts at this juncture to check himself.

Who knew that the emperor suddenly spoke again: "I heard that the director of the Dushui Division of the Linqingweihe Shipyard has a friendship with you?" ”

Daming also has several shipyards along the canal, which is the lack of boats that Zhu Houxi asked Li Yi about when he came. The Weihe Shipyard here in Linqing was supervised by the Lifting Department of the Cabinet System, and the Ministry of Industry set up a Metropolitan Water Division here, and arranged a director to be responsible for the construction, repair and inspection of the boats.

Qi Yuanda was faced with a new problem, so he could only answer first: "I wish that after the arrival of the director, the continuation of the string is indeed the inner son's sister." ”

Zhu Houxi smiled slightly, and asked again: "I have heard the name of the Huang family in Dongchang Mansion for a long time, and I heard that the head of the Huang family has believed in a Protestant religion in recent years, and he is called to do nothing. There are also many believers in this religion among Cao Ding and Cao Gong. ”

Qi Yuan's thighs were weak, and he didn't know how to answer for a while.

It's terrifying, does the emperor know so many things?

Luo Qing, who was born in Jimo, has only been teaching for more than ten years. It was not too strange for the emperor to know that such Protestantism existed, but how did he know that his wife's head of the family believed in it?

Qi Yuanda had only stood up for a short time, and now he looked up at the emperor tremblingly, only to see his eyes that seemed to be smiling.

Then, I saw that Huang Gonggong's hanging palm was spread out, and then made a gesture that he couldn't understand.

The emperor said again: "Qi Yuanda, it is not easy for you to be the commander of Shandong, but today I summoned you just to tell you to pay attention to the suppression of bandits and Caoyun, and then care about your family, why are you so afraid?" I gave Gao Zhong more than 3,000 taels of silver, and today I made another shot with five gold leaves. ”

Qi Yuanda's legs were completely weak, and he fell to his knees: "Minister...... Minister......"

"It's always been that way, and it's understandable." Zhu Houxi's eyes narrowed slightly, "But Shandong is about to try out a new law, what are you going to do?" ”

Qi Yuanda knelt on the ground, feeling that the road was getting narrower and narrower.

(End of chapter)