At night, the West Warm Pavilion.

After Zhu Youji's health improved greatly, he began to review and approve the recitals, but he couldn't handle too many official duties at one time, and more often he needed the eunuchs of the celebrant to help him take care of and dispose of it.

And the recent things that he has to deal with personally, that is, the rewards and punishments related to the merits and demerits of the two wars in the east and west.

“…… Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has put forward a strategy of rewarding meritorious generals, and there are more than a dozen major items, which are related to the rewards of money, grain, and fields, and in addition to military merits, it involves the redistribution of the tuntian fields of the Northwest Army, and the Ministry of War has proposed to reopen up hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Datong, and at the same time to build water conservancy and other projects to increase the irrigation of farmland, and then this is the ......."

Li Zhang was in charge of serving and explaining beside Zhu Youzhu that night, and he presented a thing to Zhu Youji.

"Some people also proposed that Cai Guogong continue to be sealed, and give Yongping Mansion and other places to Cai Guogong, which is related to the sowing of new crops in the spring of the next year, and the local government of Yongping Mansion is said to have been prepared."

"Oh? Is it? ”

Zhu Youzhu was a little happy when he heard the news at first glance.

The minister of the DPRK and China finally began to go to the road, and actually offered to seal and reward Zhang Zhou? This saves the emperor a lot of things.

But when he saw that song, his face was not very good-looking.

It seems to be helping Zhang Zhou, but it's more that Wenchen is playing with caution, when a person has merit, the people below take the initiative to give him a seal and reward, which is clearly to divide the relationship between the monarch and the minister, although Zhu Youzhu is a stuffy gourd and has social phobia, but his heart is not stupid, on the contrary, he has a very clear set of interpersonal relationship handling patterns in his heart.

To put it bluntly, when there is social fear, it is often black-bellied.

This little bit of caution from the officials below could not escape his eyes at all.

"Where is this asking for credit for Bingkuan, it is basically playing a guillotine for me, this group of people, their hearts can be punished!" Zhu Youzhu unceremoniously commented on the motives and intentions of this group of people.

Li Zhang also said cautiously: "In this battle, although Cai Guogong did not go into battle in person, he had a meritorious plan behind it, and if he talked about merit, he should be headed by Cai Guogong, and as seen by the slave maid, if he wants to be rewarded, he must be Cai Guogong first." ”

Zhu Youzhu said: "Then according to what they said, give Bingkuan a first-class promotion, and at the same time officially give Yongping Mansion to Bingkuan as a fief, especially some cities and ports in Yongping Mansion, etc., everything will be handed over to Bingkuan to take care of." ”

"This ......" Li Zhang seemed a little embarrassed.

Zhu Youzhu asked, "Do you also want to say for those people that there is no precedent for this?" Since ancient times, the marquis of ten thousand households has been a reward from the imperial court to meritorious officials, even if it is the current dynasty, is there no reward for meritorious ministers to fiefs? Yunnan and Nanzhili, even if they are not surnamed in the country, they also have their own fiefdoms, don't they? I'm just following the ancestral system! ”

"Yes." Li Zhang hurriedly responded.

"In addition, the local taxes in Yongping Mansion will be handed over to Bingkuan to take care of, if others think it is inappropriate, then these taxes and so on will be redistributed in the name of the Inner Government first, and they will not go to the household department, if someone in the court says irresponsible things, let them come directly to tell me." Zhu Youzhu looked impatient.

There is no need to go through the court to make a decision, only a word from him.

Li Zhang said: "Yongping Mansion is already located on the outskirts of Beijing, and in the past few years, it has been difficult to maintain the income from taxes and other things, and it has to rely on other places to allocate money and grain. It is also related to the cost of Jizhou Town, which is very huge. ”

Zhu Youzhu frowned and said: "I gave the land of Yongping Mansion to Bingkuan, not that I also gave him the defense of Yongping Mansion, do I still want to attribute all the expenses of Jizhou Town to Bingkuan alone?" It was raised by the imperial court, not by Bingkuan alone...... But in the past few years...... Bingkuan has paid too much for the imperial court. It is also said that it makes me sigh, a courtier can bring so much income to the court, and one person can hold half of the court, so he has to pick and choose Bingkuan, what do those people think? ”

Li Zhang didn't know how to respond.

In the eyes of an emperor who blindly trusts Zhang Zhou, Zhang Zhou is the perfect saint, so it would be better to echo it and make the emperor feel that you are his own person.

As for direct advice or something...... It's not his responsibility at all, and Li Zhang is not the kind of person who dares to speak out.

"The budget of Jizhou will increase in the coming year, since I have given Yongping Mansion to Bingkuan, I must not give the Tatars a chance to make trouble, I must at least ensure the stability of Yongping Mansion, and then tell Bingkuan that the newly reclaimed land in Yongping Mansion can be exempted from taxes for three years...... Five years. As for how to exempt it, or whether to exempt it, let Bingkuan decide it himself, after all, it is his own territory. ”

Zhu Youzhu originally wanted to tax exempt the fields of Yongping Mansion.

But after thinking about it again, that place was given to Zhang Zhou, and he said that the taxes and other taxes in that place were all handed over to Zhang Zhou to take care of, and he turned around and said that he wanted to be exempt from taxes, so what else could Zhang Zhou get?

However, tax exemption is a big favor, if Zhang Zhoulai applies for tax exemption to the local government, it is equivalent to making the local people worry about Zhang Zhou's goodness, and at the same time, they are more motivated to reclaim wasteland...... In the north, near the frontier, there is a lot of barren land and wilderness, and tax exemption is also the best way to reclaim wasteland.

So much so that the emperor couldn't figure it out, so he let Zhang Zhou think it himself.

Roughly that means......

The place is yours, play however you want, whatever you want.

……

……

At night, Li Zhang walked briskly and hurried to find Zhang Zhou, to inform Zhang Zhou of the "good news".

He made a plan on the way, making Zhang Zhou feel that the matter of giving Yongping Mansion was his Li Zhang's contribution behind his back, and it also made Zhang Zhou feel that he Li Zhang was "his own person", and Li Zhang also took great pains for his current status, after all, he was most aware of the rumors that Yang Peng was going to replace him, and he was most afraid that he would lose the emperor's trust.

The key is not how the emperor uses people, but what Zhang Zhou's attitude towards him.

When he learned that Zhang Zhou was still in the theater, he didn't care what time it was, and went directly to the door to look for it.

Although the person was invited upstairs, Zhang Zhou didn't come out from time to time, and he was not in a hurry, he was stunned to think of himself as a person who asked to see, and sat there waiting, so that when Zhang Zhou came out, he was also a little apologetic.

"Let Gonggong Li wait for a long time, I have something to do here, and I will be delayed." Zhang Zhoudao.

Li Zhang said with a smiling face: "Sir, you are smiling, you are conscientious and conscientious in doing things for the imperial court, what if we wait for you for a while?" After all, they are all in the service of His Majesty. Besides, it wasn't Your Majesty who asked us to come today, this letter, it is estimated that in the next two days, Your Majesty will inform Mr. Yu of you. ”

"What kind of big deal does it take my father-in-law to visit? If it is something that you want to wait for Your Majesty to proclaim, it is better to wait a few more days. Zhang Zhou seems to understand the "rules".

You, Li Zhang, are here to ask for credit, but what you said is likely to be beyond the scope of your duties.

Li Zhang said: "Actually, it's not a big deal, but it is reasonable, Your Majesty wants to officially give Yongping Mansion to you, Mr., and say that the taxes of Yongping Mansion will be allocated by you, and you can even be exempted from taxes for five years, and even things such as forced labor will be allocated by you." It is also considered that Yongping Mansion has to employ too many people recently, so as not to have enough manpower. ”

When Li Zhang said this, his face was already a little flattering.

"Sir, this matter is still raised for you by the ministers below, Your Majesty said, those people are not good-hearted, or want to fan the flames, but Your Majesty is also taking advantage of this shareholder wind, directly give you a seal, it seems to be in line with their wishes, in fact, in the end, it is they who are angry, let them steal chickens and rice."

When Li Zhang said this, he had another indignation that hated the same enemy as Zhang Zhou, and seemed to want to fight against Wenchen.

Zhang Zhou's face was not as happy or worried as Li Zhang imagined, but looked very calm.

Zhang Zhou asked Li Zhang to sit down, and Li Zhang hurriedly asked, "Sir, do you think there is something wrong?" ”

Zhang Zhou shook his head slightly and said: "The matter of Yongping Mansion, in fact, Your Majesty told me earlier, and said that when the time is right, it will be granted, but I mentioned at that time that this kind of thing is best to go through the court, or simply do not need it, and I don't need a fief to do anything, after all, my roots are in the capital." ”

"Yes, yes, sir, you are talented, everyone else wants to list the territory and become a prince, and you just want to do things for the court, in fact, whether this is a feudal territory or not, it doesn't matter, but you always need to have a place of your own to display your ambitions, right?" Li Zhang seems to understand Zhang Zhou's situation very well.

Zhang Zhoudao: "What I'm afraid of in this matter is not that the ministers of the DPRK and China oppose it, but that someone will secretly stumble." ”

Li Zhang said: "No, in the Ming Dynasty, there are also many meritorious ministers who have been fiefdoms, who doesn't have a fief?" ”

Zhang Zhou sighed and said: "After all, Yongping Mansion is in Beizhili, close to Shuntian Mansion, and everyone is targeted." And because there were some disputes in Yongping Prefecture before, the relationship between me and the local government in Yongping Prefecture was not very good, and it was related to the opening of mines and the construction of ports. ”

"This ......" Li Zhang didn't know how to answer.

The emperor rewarded you with such a large piece of land, and it is at the feet of the Son of Heaven, and you are still "picking and choosing"? Are you worthy of Your Majesty's trust in you?

Zhang Zhou said: "What I mean, if Gonggong Li is interested, he can also help tell His Majesty." In my opinion, it can be used as the residence of His Majesty's palace, and His Majesty can go on patrol, or go to the summer to escape the summer, etc., and if you want to patrol the frontier, you can go at any time. My task is to take care of this place for Your Majesty...... It can exist as a special zone. ”

"Special Zone?"

Li Zhang said with a question mark on his face, "Our family doesn't understand what you mean, sir." Can...... Elaborate? ”

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "The general meaning is that this place is different from the policies used in other places, for example, the land tax will be reduced, after all, many places are going to plant new crops, and if you want to change the original crop farming, it will inevitably bring some losses, and the people may not accept it, giving them certain benefits." ”

"Outside of the land, the mining tax is the same, and the mining tax is still allocated to the imperial court for the purpose of allocating expenses. In the construction of ports, more commercial taxes are used...... Doing business in Yong Binh Province would result in higher taxes than in other places, but merchants from all over the country would be allowed to move freely. In other words, in this area, there is no restriction on household registration, and those who are willing to move to Yongping Province in the first few years can also be exempted from two years of forced labor......"

"As for the construction of the port, the number of ships will increase, and the other side will also take on the heavy responsibility of going to sea in the north, and a new city shipping department will be established, and the taxes paid by the ships will be higher, but the goods from the South and the West will be transported from here to all parts of the north, and the merchants can transport and buy and sell ...... on their own."

At the same time, a railway will be built between the port of Jingshi and Yongpingfu, and these transportation will also be open to merchants, and the imperial court will charge them for transportation, which can be transported to Jingshi, and even Xishan, and from these places to all parts of the north, as long as it is the land of Jiangbei, this system can be used. When you go through the water and tax customs again, you will no longer have to pay taxes. ”

When Zhang Zhou said this, Li Zhang was completely dumbfounded.

But because what he said was quite easy to understand, in fact, Li Zhang probably understood it.

The so-called special zone is different from other places in Daming.

"Sir, we don't understand very well, you mean...... If you want to increase the business tax, you still want to promote the business here, so will foreign merchants still come? They're profit-seeking. Li Zhang, with his insight, put forward his opinion.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Whether the businessmen come or not, in addition to looking at the policy, also depends on whether it can bring them profits here." If Yongping Mansion produced enough goods that they could not buy in the other places, and if it could break through the barriers to the transportation of goods from north to south and become the second main water road after the Grand Canal, and the imperial court would use a large number of boats to assist them in moving goods, but only for transportation fees, then why didn't they come here? How much does it cost to transport grain from the south to the north in a year? If you go by sea, then their cost is very low. ”

"This ......"

Li Zhang didn't seem to understand quite much.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Such a large business, a million taels a year, should not be a problem, if you add the silver and gold shipped back from overseas, a few million taels a year, it is equivalent to bringing double the income to the imperial court." ”

Li Zhang said with a slight surprise on his face: "Even Your Majesty said, sir, you will open up the source to the imperial court, which is incomparable to other courtiers." ”

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "This is also my means of opening up, the north wants to fight, but also to settle the people, it is best not to affect all aspects of the imperial court's expenses, river workers and disaster relief in various places can not be stopped, the royal palaces of the imperial court, the official government, etc., are also waiting for the imperial court to allocate money and grain, which all need silver." Only when the court is rich can the bottom of the grassland be realized, and I am also thinking about the court. ”

"Yes, yes." Li Zhang had a little envy on his face.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty initially plans to let Yang Peng and Yang Gonggong go to the port to take care of these industries as the head of the inner government." I will also tell Your Majesty that I am just a think tank, and Gonggong Yang is not doing things for me, but for the imperial court. If you come back with a few million taels a year, no matter what the court does, it will be enough. ”

Li Zhang smiled: "It's not that the imperial court is enough, it's Your Majesty who is enough!" (End of chapter)