In the evening, the Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

"Hmph, this group of bastards, it's really ridiculous, what ancestral law is immutable, the original Emperor Taizu's punishment of skinning and filling grass against corrupt officials, in the end, hasn't it also changed?"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he sneered and threw the music in his hand back to the bookcase.

Lu Fang, who was waiting beside Jiajing, saw this situation, and hurriedly stepped forward and comforted him softly: "Please let Your Majesty calm his anger!" ”

When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at Lu Fang, and then spoke: "The imperial court is just planning to abolish some post stations with remote roads and low usage rate, which will actually cause such a violent backlash. ”

"Hmph, these bastards are still using the immutable reason of the ancestral law to prevaricate me, according to me, they don't want to start this!"

Lu Fang, who was on the side, heard Jiajing's words, and after thinking for a while, he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, the slave maid feels that the post station system has not changed for a long time since His Majesty Emperor Taizu. ”

"With the passage of time, the post station system has gradually become erosive, and there are many drawbacks, and the slave maid feels that the suggestions put forward by Zhang Ge Lao at the imperial meeting are very feasible!"

"Bringing the right to operate the post station back to the central government and prohibiting apportionment will greatly reduce the burden on the common people and completely cut off the way for those officials to exploit the people!"

Jiajing was noncommittal to Lu Fang's words, and then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he looked in the direction where Lu Fang was and asked.

"By the way, Lu Fang, I heard that after Elder Yan Ge proposed to abolish the original post talisman and replace it with a new version of the post talisman that indicates the user and the period of use, many officials went to Yan Mansion in the middle of the night to ask for an explanation, is there such a thing?"

"Your Majesty, it is true, it was late at that time, and Elder Yan Ge had already fallen asleep, and it was Elder Xiaoge who received them!"

When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she didn't hide it in the slightest, and immediately told everything she had learned.

Hearing this, Jiajing raised his eyebrows and asked with interest: "Oh, what did Yan Shifan say?" ”

"Your Majesty, as far as the slave maid knows, the elder of the small pavilion reprimanded them harshly, and assured them that the imperial court this time is just to save money and abolish some post stations, and nothing else is involved."

After listening to Lu Fang's narration, Jiajing nodded, and commented: "Well, this Yan Shifan, the heat is almost there, if he asks his father to come, I'm afraid he will have to bring a few people out on the spot and make an example of the monkeys!" ”

When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, he hurriedly leaned down and said in response: "Your Majesty is right!" ”

After that, I saw Jiajing withdraw his gaze from Lu Fang's body, and ordered: "Lu Fang, keep an eye on those people for me next, and report to me immediately if there is any news!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

When Lu Fang heard this, his expression immediately turned grim, and he replied in a deep voice.

……

On the other side, Zhang Juzheng's mansion in the capital.

At this moment, in the hall, I saw Zhang Juzheng sitting on the top, listening to the report from Yang Mu in the frame cleaner.

"Lord Yushangshu, here is the list of post stations drawn up by our Frame Cleaning Division, the roads are remote, the utilization rate is not high, and they need to be abolished."

"Well, show it to the official!"

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he took the list from Yang Mu's hand and carefully browsed it.

At this time, Yang Mu's eyes were bloodshot and his face was haggard, he hadn't closed his eyes for several nights.

Since he took over this task from Zhang Juzheng's hands, in order to draw up this list as soon as possible, he and many colleagues in the Frame Cleaning Division have exhausted their efforts.

Since the Frame Cleaning Division is in charge of the country's horse administration, as well as post transmission and other affairs, the results can be obtained by looking through the records of previous years as to which post stations are located in remote areas and are not highly utilized.

Although this matter is not too difficult, it is extremely exhausting, after all, it is necessary to make a comprehensive assessment of each post station from the records of the past years, and then make a specific list.

"Xishuiyi, Fuchunyi, Wuyunyi, Baixiayi, Luoshanyi, Shuixiyi, Haixinyi......"

After Zhang Juzheng finished browsing the list of frame cleaners, he put it aside, nodded, and said, "Well, good job." ”

Yang Mu on the side heard Zhang Juzheng's words, and the whole person couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, this list is the result of the hard work of many officials from top to bottom in recent times.

And now, this list has finally been recognized by Zhang Juzheng, the top boss.

Then, I saw Yang Mu organize the language in his mind, look in the direction where Zhang Juzheng was, and report respectfully.

"Lord Yushangshu, there are now 1,732 post stations all over the country, and the post stations listed on the list that need to be eliminated and streamlined are one hundred and three, less than one-tenth of them."

When Yang Mu said this, his face was embarrassed, and he continued to add: "Lord Shangshu, the recent abolition of the post station in the DPRK and China has caused a lot of uproar, and the lower officials are really ......."

Zhang Juzheng took in the cringe on Yang Mu's face, and after a moment of silence, he turned to order: "Don't worry too much, you frame cleaning department, everything is as usual, no one will find trouble for you!" ”

Zhang Juzheng's words undoubtedly gave the nervous Yang Mu a shot in the arm.

After all, there is Zhang Juzheng, a cabinet veteran and secretary of the military department, and no one dares to trouble him.

After this, I saw that Yang Mu's face was full of gratitude, and then, I saw him get up from the seat, bow his head, and bow to Zhang Juzheng and say, "Thank you, Lord Shangshu!" ”

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng withdrew his gaze from Yang Mu's body, waved his hand quite casually, and ordered: "Okay, this official still has things to deal with next, if there is nothing to do, you can leave!" ”

"Obey the order, Lord Shangshu, the next official will retire!"

After Yang Mu finished speaking, he arched his hand to Zhang Juzheng and immediately left.

After Yang Mu left, he saw Zhang Juzheng get up from his seat and muttered to himself: "Alas, there are still too few people available at the moment, and after the court holds Enke next year, this situation should be much better!" ”

"But before that, I still have to rely on Xu Jie!"

After finishing his emotion, I saw Zhang Juzheng put away the list listed by the frame cleaning department and left the hall with a step.

In the study, I saw Zhang Juzheng call his cronies and instructed: "Send this list of post stations that need to be abolished to Xu Ge Lao, and let him help with the staff!" ”

Regarding Zhang Juzheng's words, the cronie naturally did not dare to disobey, and then, I saw the cronie take the list from Zhang Juzheng's hand with a solemn face, and responded in a deep voice: "Yes, master!" ”

……

Night falls, the capital, Yanfu.

Recently, Yan Shifan felt quite depressed.

The reason is very simple, when Yan Song woke up the next day and learned that the night before, everyone came to Yan's mansion to ask for the explanation about the abolition of the original post talisman by the imperial court, and immediately became furious and reprimanded him fiercely.

"Could it be that I should really pull a few people out on the spot as my father said, and make an example of chickens and monkeys?"

Yan Shifan thought of this, and his face was full of remorse.

At this moment, Yan Shifan still clearly remembered what Yan Song said to him at that time: "I have to let them know that there is only one cloud on their heads, and that cloud is our Yan family!" ”

I don't know how long time has passed, but I saw Yan Shifan come back to his senses and say to himself silently: "Well, my father is right, I am just too merciful to let them kick their noses in the face!" ”

Thinking of this, Yan Shifan subconsciously clenched his fists.

At this moment, I only heard a slight knock on the door, and then, I only heard the voice of the housekeeper sound outside the door: "Little Pavilion Elder, your subordinates Zheng Michang and He Maocai sent someone to send a letter!" ”

"Anyway, what are the two of them sending a letter for, and there haven't been any major incidents in Zhejiang recently?"

With such doubts, I saw Yan Shifan raise his head, look at the figure outside the door, and commanded: "Come in!" ”

As the words fell, I heard a 'squeak', and the door of the room was pushed open, and then the butler walked in.

After entering the room, the housekeeper subconsciously looked in the direction where Yan Shifan was, and said respectfully: "Little Pavilion Elder! ”

"Hmm."

Then, I saw the housekeeper step forward, take out the letter from his sleeve, and hand it over to Yan Shifan.

After receiving the letter, I saw Yan Shifan withdraw his gaze from the housekeeper, waved his hand, and ordered: "Okay, this is nothing for you, go down first!" ”

"Yes, Little Pavilion Elder!"

After the housekeeper responded, he immediately leaned down and bowed to Yan Shifan.

After doing this, the butler did not hesitate for the slightest, and immediately left the room, and took the door of the room with him.

After the housekeeper left the room, he saw Yan Shifan open the envelope in his hand in an orderly manner and began to browse the contents on it.

"Well, these two guys are very good, and they don't take the benefits alone!"

After Yan Shifan finished reading the contents of the letter, a slight smile appeared on his face, and he said with emotion.

The content of this letter is very simple, Zheng Michang and He Maocai have already sent people to their hometown of Jiangxi and sent 500,000 taels of silver.

And this silver was confiscated by them from the family property of Wang Yongxian, the prefect of Jiaxing.

Yan Shifan is already familiar with the next process, and he only needs to go through the motions to be able to justify it.

After all, this Jiaxing prefect Wang Yongxian has a close relationship with the Jiaxing Yuan family, who secretly hid weapons and intended to rebel.

disposing of him can be regarded as returning the local people, and it is a justice.

"Well, I have to inform my father of this news quickly!"

Thinking of this, Yan Shifan put away the letter and left the room quickly.

If this matter was normal, Yan Shifan would never go out of his way to tell Yan Song.

But right now, he has just been reprimanded, and he urgently needs to prove himself elsewhere.

……

With such a thought, I saw Yan Shifan knocking on the door of Yan Song's room uneasily.

"Who?"

"Father, it's a child, and the child has something to report to his father!"

Then, I only heard Yan Song's slightly tired voice sound: "Come in!" ”

The voice fell, and I saw Yan Shifan push the door and enter.

The charcoal fire in the house was burning vigorously, and as soon as he entered the door, Yan Shifan felt a wave of warmth hit him, dispelling the chill around him.

At this time, I saw Yan Songzheng lying on the hollow Hu bed without any image, holding an unknown book in his hand.

Seeing Yan Shifan coming, I saw Yan Song take his eyes off the book, look in the direction where Yan Shifan was, and asked, "Is there something wrong?" ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, he immediately stepped forward, took out the letter from his sleeve, and respectfully reported: "Father, just now, the child's subordinates Zheng Michang and He Maocai sent someone to send a letter, saying that they had sent someone to send 500,000 taels of silver to their hometown!" ”

"Oh, five hundred thousand taels of silver?"

When Yan Song heard this, a look of interest appeared on his face, and he sat up from the bed and said so.

"Show me the letter!"

"Yes, Father!"

When Yan Shifan heard this, he didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, and even handed over the letter to Yan Song's hands.

In Yan Shifan's hand, after receiving the letter, I saw Yan Song browsing it with great concentration.

After a long time, I saw him put down the envelope in his hand, stroked his beard, and commented: "Well, yes, these two subordinates of yours are quite good!" ”

When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment, and then continued to add: "When the time comes, take out 20,000 taels of silver from this silver to fund the righteous education in my hometown, and the ancestral hall will also be repaired by the way!" ”

"Yes, father, the child understands!"

When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he immediately lowered his head and replied in a deep voice.

Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, Yan Shifan looked in the direction where Yan Song was, and continued to add: "By the way, father, the weather this year is much colder than before!" ”

"Why don't you just let those people in the clan buy more rice and flour bedding this year and send them to those who are struggling to live and find it difficult to sustain?"

"In this way, it is also good for others to read us!"

When Yan Song heard this, after pondering for a while, he waved his hand quite casually, and ordered: "Well, you can do it!" ”

After that, I saw Yan Song pick up the teacup soaked in wolfberries on the table, take a sip, and then asked: "By the way, what are the new trends in the recent abolition of the post station between the DPRK and China?" ”

Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, and after thinking for a while, he responded respectfully: "Back to my father, the recent abolition of the post station by the DPRK and China has caused a lot of uproar, and even our people have many objections!" ”

"According to the children, those people's opposition to the abolition of the post station is nothing more than a reason, what they are really worried about is that one day they may be cut on their own heads, after all, nowadays, there are many redundant officials in various departments of the Ming Dynasty."

After listening to Yan Shifan's thoughts, I saw Yan Song nodding and said slowly: "Well, it makes sense, in the early years of Hongwu, the total number of civil officials in the country was only more than 4,500, and the number of military attaches was only more than 28,000. ”

"And right now, there are more than 100,000 civil and military officials in the country combined, and the number of officials has tripled compared with the Hongwu period!"

"My Ming Dynasty officials at all levels have become more and more bloated and inefficient, if we continue like this, sooner or later we will repeat the mistakes of the Song Dynasty."

Yan Shifan on the side heard Yan Song's words, and his face was full of surprise.

Immediately, I saw him pluck up his courage, looked in the direction where Yan Song was, and cautiously asked, "Father...... Father, do you mean that sooner or later Your Majesty will dismiss officials? ”

Yan Song took in the expression on Yan Shifan's face, shook his head, and explained: "It's impossible to talk about the dismissal of officials, in short, when the time comes, some of my Daming departments will inevitably be streamlined and merged!" ”

When Yan Song said this, the conversation changed and continued.

"It's just that it's too early to talk about this matter, and when His Majesty has removed all obstacles, he will free up his hands to carry out this matter, but by that time, I may no longer be there!"

Yan Shifan, who was on the side, heard Yan Song's words, and didn't care about anything else, so he hurriedly stepped forward and comforted him: "Father, according to the child, your current body is still tough, there will definitely be a day!" ”

When Yan Song heard Yan Shifan's words, the expression on his face did not change much.

Subsequently, I saw Yan Song looking solemnly in the direction where Yan Shifan was, and said in a deep voice: "Yan Shifan, your father and I can't stay in this position of the first assistant of the cabinet forever, one day, this position will have to be sat by someone else!" ”

"At that time, I hope you can become a little more steady, plan before you act, think twice before acting, do you understand?"

"Yes, father, the child understands!"

When Yan Shifan heard this, his face was full of complicated expressions, he lowered his head, and responded respectfully.

"Okay, if there's nothing to do next, you can go down first, I'm going to rest!"

"Yes, father, the child will leave!"

……

Time passed slowly, and even though many officials in the DPRK and China were opposed to the abolition of the post stations, the cabinet still announced the list of post stations that needed to be abolished after repeated discussions.

Unlike the drastic reforms expected by those officials in the court, the imperial court abolished a total of 96 post stations this time, and there were 1,732 post stations throughout the country.

And after these abolished post stations, there are reasons listed by the Frame Cleaning Division, so that even if someone wants to play on the topic, it is difficult to find a suitable excuse.

The post station that the imperial court abolished this time has not even reached one-twentieth of it, so it can be said that it cannot reach the point of breaking the muscles and bones!

Therefore, those officials who were originally opposed to the abolition of the post station, under all kinds of pressure, chose to acquiesce in the matter en masse.

Then, in a blink of an eye, the time for the court to make a fortune had arrived.

The official Lu of the Ming Dynasty was calculated by month, and if there was a leap month, one month of Yulu would be added.

At present, due to the abundance of the treasury and the sharp rise in the price of silk, there are only a very small number of treasure money issued by the imperial court this time.

Before that, because Jiajing had raised his salary for hundreds of civil and military officials, and among them, the salary increase for middle and low-level officials was particularly huge.

From the monthly rice of the Jiupin officials, it has increased from the original five stones to twelve stones!

This time is not the same as before, after all, the year-end bonus is issued along with Yu Lu.

As a result, many officials received large sums of money.

"This official has been a messenger in the imperial court for so many years, and it is the first time he has received so many salaries, so he can have a good year this year!"

"Yes, if it weren't for Your Majesty's mercy and salary increase for hundreds of officials, I'm afraid we would still have to live a tight life!"

"Alas, we are both fourth-grade officials, why are the Yulu you received so much higher than mine?"

"Don't forget, the Ministry of Officials ranks first in this departmental ranking, and there is also a year-end bonus!"

"Alas, I really envy your officials!"

Forbidden City, Cabinet.

At this time, the charcoal fire in the room was blazing, and everyone was dealing with the notes sent by the officials.

I saw Yan Song put aside the processed envelope in his hand, picked up the teacup soaked in wolfberry water on the table, took a sip, looked in the direction where Xu Jie was, and asked.

"Elder Xu Ge, have you sent all the officials' money?"

When Xu Jie heard this, he put down the brush in his hand, looked in the direction where Yan Song was, and responded: "Elder Yan Ge, the official's salary, even with the year-end bonus, has been sent down!" ”

After learning the news from Xu Jie's mouth, Yan Song breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, trembling, he got up from his seat and put his hand close to the burning fire in the room.

Yan Song roasted his hands while chatting with Xu Jie: "Old Xu Ge, do you remember when we were on duty here last year?" ”

When Xu Jie heard this, after recalling for a while, he said with a smile: "This is natural, at this time last year, there was still a war ahead, and the treasury was empty, so it could only be barely supported!" ”

"I still remember, Old Yan Ge, you said to me personally, let's boil it again, and in a blink of an eye, it will come out."

"Right now, the treasury is full, the imperial army has won many battles, and the Japanese who were previously entrenched in the southeast coast of my Ming Dynasty have also been wiped out, all of which should be attributed to Your Majesty, Your Majesty Shengming!"

Yan Song heard Xu Jie's words, and after bowing his head slightly, he said in response: "Yes, Your Majesty Shengming!" ”

Hu Zongxian, who was on the side, heard the conversation between Yan Song and Xu Jie, and was also quite emotional.

You must know that at this time last year, he was still worried about the lack of salaries at the front, but now, he not only served as the secretary of the ministry, but also successfully entered the cabinet.

At this time, listening to the conversation between Yan Song and Xu Jie, Hu Zongxian had a feeling of being separated from the world.

Seeing that there were not many recitals left, everyone simply chatted with each other, and the cabinet was full of a happy atmosphere.

Seeing that the atmosphere of the on-site discussion was becoming more and more enthusiastic, I saw Hu Zongxian throw out an interesting anecdote.

"I don't know if you have read an idle book called "Journey to the West", the plot in the book is bizarre and addictive."

"Not long ago, I stumbled upon the fact that the author of this book, Sheyang Jushi, is currently studying in my Ming Dynasty's Guozijian."

"Oh, there's still such a thing?"

(End of chapter)