Chapter 487 486 Raising Money

After Yang Zhao became the deputy general of Liaoyang, Zhang Juzheng's calculations naturally fell through.

However, this seemed to be the first time that Zhang Juzheng had the idea of ​​supporting a group of confidants, at least Wei Guangde guessed so, because Zhang Juzheng soon returned to normal, and a smile appeared on his face. The cabinet affairs that Tang Ruji and Yin Shizeng were talking about seemed to be the reason for his happiness.

Tang Ruji was a bit pedantic, this was Wei Guangde's evaluation of him.

Emperor Jiajing had already decided on the matter, and he thought that the cabinet should continue to report according to the convention, without considering that it might offend the emperor, not to mention that the cabinet ministers were in power at this time, and who would like to add more constraints.

However, at this time, whether it was the cabinet or Emperor Jiajing in Xiyuan, they turned a deaf ear to the discussions of the people below, because there was a more important thing to deal with in front of them, that is, where to get money.

The Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty actually had a plan for the annual income and expenditure at the beginning of the year, and there were budget quotas for what should be spent on those aspects.

This year, the expenses for rebuilding the Yongshou Palace were finally paid to Kangping, but because of the fire in the palace, Emperor Jiajing was even more determined to re-record the Yongle Encyclopedia.

Especially shortly after the fire in the Yongshou Palace, the Imperial Horse Administration caught fire again, which made Emperor Jiajing very worried about the ability of the palace eunuchs.

When Yan Song was in power, Emperor Jiajing had discussed this matter with cabinet ministers many times, and now he summoned Xu Jie and Yuan Wei to the West Garden to discuss this matter again.

"Your Majesty, last year, most of the ambergris in the palace was burned due to the fire in the Yongshou Palace. Now the Minister Gao of the Ministry of Revenue is using the remaining silver from the Ministry to purchase ambergris everywhere, and there is no extra silver to prepare for this matter."

Xu Jie knew that Emperor Jiajing was now determined to re-record the encyclopedia, and this matter itself had many benefits, but the Ministry of Revenue had no money. If he wanted the emperor to take the money from the inner treasury, forget it. The inner treasury often had no money and was forcibly asked from the Ministry of Revenue.

In order to avoid major consequences, the Ministry of Revenue must prepare some silver to meet the needs of the inner court.

"Your Majesty, copying the Grand Ceremony is a great merit, but the project is huge and it is not a short-term achievement. I ask Your Majesty to postpone it and leave enough time. During this period, the cabinet will work with the Ministry of Revenue to raise the required silver and money."

Yuan Wei was no longer a minister or a minister at this time, so he certainly knew how difficult it was to be a head of the Ming Dynasty.

Most of the silver from various places went to the Ministry of Revenue, but the Ministry of Revenue had only so much silver, and it would be gone after spending it.

The Ministry of Revenue, which had no money, could only go to the cabinet and borrow silver from other ministries when it needed to make urgent payments.

When he was not in his position, he could still curse and make trouble below, but now that he was in power, he naturally could not continue like this and had to find a way to solve it.

How can you live without silver? That is naturally to save money, and it is too troublesome to increase revenue.

Emperor Jiajing wanted to re-record the Grand Ceremony. The staff was simple, but the cost of pens and ink was not small. It would be better to save a little.

In any case, as long as the re-recording begins, tens of thousands of taels of silver will be needed every year.

"I summoned you two here today to ask what you can do?"

The Jiajing Emperor on the throne just said lightly, if you believe these ministers, then don't think about doing anything.

Since ascending the throne, the most profound understanding of the Jiajing Emperor is that you can't easily believe the lies of these ministers.

They often say this and that in front of him, but if you use both kindness and power, and release some benefits, even if they are a little excessive, they will pinch their noses and accept it. For them, official positions are the most important.

However, using official positions to threaten is not the right way. The cabinet ministers are not low-ranking officials who can be replaced at will, so most things can only be discussed and done. Everyone takes a step back and finds a way to get along.

Raising money, such a difficult problem, Yuan Wei is really not good at it. At this time, he just lowered his head, watching his nose and his heart.

And Xu Jie also knew that the memorial sent back today seemed to be a difficult trust to accept.

This was the first thing that Emperor Jiajing had to do after Yan Song left office. If he could not do it well, he would not be able to sit in this position steadily.

At this time, Xu Jie's brain was telling him to think about finding a way, recalling how Yan Song handled similar situations.

The first thing that came to mind was naturally to borrow money from Changyingku and get things done first.

But now it is only the middle of the year. If you want to pay back this money, you have to arrange it in the next year at the earliest when the new plan of the Ministry of Revenue comes out.

Can the loan from Changyingku be delayed for half a year?

I'm afraid it's difficult.

Even if the Ministry of Revenue borrows money, it will be returned in two months at most.

As for collecting money from various ministries and temples, I'm afraid they will talk a lot at first, and then complain when it comes to apportionment, which is also annoying.

There is also the issue of salt and tea taxes, but distant water cannot quench near thirst.

Recently, Xu Jie and Yuan Wei have been discussing with the Ministry of Personnel how to adjust the positions originally occupied by Yan's officials, such as the position of the Prime Minister of Salt Administration, and replace them with their own people.

If these things are not arranged properly, how can they make money?

What other channels can make money?

Or who has money in hand?

The officials and gentry have money, but this precedent cannot be set, and there is no proper reason.

The rest are the royal family and nobles. They have inherited the throne for many generations, and the wealth accumulated in their hands should not be a small amount. It is enough to share some of it among each family.

Thinking of this, Xu Jie looked up at Emperor Jiajing on the throne and said, "Your Majesty, re-recording the encyclopedia is a grand event, and it should be notified to the royal palaces of all places through the Imperial Clan Court.

I remember that Emperor Chengzu once said that all the books of classics, history, and collections of hundreds of schools since the writing of books, as well as the words of astronomy, geography, yin and yang, medicine, divination, monks, and skills, should be compiled into one book without being tired of the vastness, and only then the "Yongle Encyclopedia" was published.

From the Prince's Guardian Yao Guangxiao and the Grand Secretary Xie Jin to the Confucian scholar Chen Ji, who had no official position or rank, they worked together and it took several years to complete.

Today, Your Majesty wants to re-record this book, and you should let the royal palaces contribute people and efforts, and follow the style of Emperor Chengzu to join in the grand event."

When Xu Jie mentioned the royal family, Yuan Wei had already guessed Xu Jie's plan. When he finished speaking, it turned out that he wanted the royal family to pay.

This is a good idea. Let the royal family pay the money, and the court does not need to pay.

"I second the motion."

As soon as Xu Jie finished speaking, Yuan Wei was already eager to express his attitude.

When Emperor Jiajing was thinking about Xu Jie's proposal, Xu Jie felt bitter.

Knowing that Emperor Jiajing wanted to re-record the ceremony, he had not arranged for his student Zhang Juzheng to take over as the chief priest of the Imperial College. There were too many things going on recently, especially Yan Song's sudden retirement, which disrupted many of his arrangements.

At the beginning, a lot of work was prepared for Yan Song, hoping that he would not oppose it.

Now, all that has become useless.

Emperor Jiajing couldn't bear it anymore, and he thought that he would soon issue an official decree to re-record the ceremony. Xu Jie sighed in his heart.

At first, he planned to let Zhang Juzheng participate in it with the title of chief priest of the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy, and strive for a position of chief school officer. Now it seems that it is too late.

"I know."

At this time, Emperor Jiajing on the throne finally spoke, which also revealed that he had agreed to Xu Jie's proposal to let the princes' palaces contribute funds and the court work to accomplish this matter.

Although Xu Jie said that the princes' palaces should contribute manpower and manpower, there are so many people in the court, so there is no need for them to send people, only money is needed.

However, when Xu Jie and Yuan Wei felt that Emperor Jiajing's goal had been achieved today and they were ready to resign, Emperor Jiajing changed the topic and asked: "I heard that the cabinet has been discussing the transfer of officials with the Ministry of Personnel for the Beijing Inspection. How is the progress now?"

When Emperor Jiajing asked about the transfer of officials, Xu Jie couldn't help but feel a little moved. Could it be that Emperor Jiajing also had someone in his pocket to arrange?

He could not help but respond carefully: "The promotion of officials this time is mainly based on the results of internal and external inspections. In fact, this matter was prepared last year. Those with outstanding local political achievements will be promoted or transferred to Beijing, and those with outstanding Beijing abilities will be sent out to increase their knowledge and familiarize themselves with the procedures of local government."

"Tell me about the people who have been decided. Tell me casually. I will listen casually."

Emperor Jiajing said casually.

Xu Jie and Yuan Wei looked at each other secretly, and Xu Jie had to start with a few people who had been decided.

These were actually the ones whose destinations had been decided last year, or in other words, the arrangements that neither Yan Song, himself, nor Yuan Wei objected to at that time.

After Xu Jie said a few names and arrangements, he found that Emperor Jiajing seemed to be very interested and had no intention of letting him stop, so he had to continue.

"The current head of the Ministry of Justice, Lao Kan, was transferred to the Guangdong Provincial Surveillance Department, and the Shaanxi Provincial Supervisory Censor Zhang Ke was transferred to the Zhejiang Zhili Deputy Inspector, and the Inspector of Liangzhe"

He said the names of more than ten officials who had a clear destination in one breath, and then Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Xu Jie knew that it was almost done. As long as Emperor Jiajing did not specifically ask about certain people at this time, there would be nothing to do today.

"Are these officials who have been confirmed to be transferred?"

Emperor Jiajing interrupted when Xu Jie paused.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Xu Jie replied hurriedly.

"For the transfer of officials, those who have been confirmed can be issued as soon as possible, and they should not be transferred uniformly after discussion to avoid turmoil in the officialdom."

Emperor Jiajing obviously did not oppose the plan of official adjustment this time, and most of the officials involved were not of high rank, and he only had some impression of many people.

The reason for asking questions today was to let Xu Jie and Yuan Wei know to be respectful. As an emperor, he was not ignorant of everything.

When Xu Jie and Yuan Wei said goodbye and left Yuxi Palace and walked towards the gate of Xiyuan, Xu Jie was still thinking about whether there were details in this official transfer that he had not noticed, especially the names of the dozen officials he reported.

He didn't know if there were any people among these people that Emperor Jiajing wanted to pay attention to, but after thinking about it carefully, he found that there seemed to be none.

These people, with low ranks, naturally had no chance to contact the emperor on weekdays.

Some of them were hard to figure out, such as Lao Kan, whose destination had already been determined by Yan Song at that time. As long as the officials in Beijing were willing to be sent to the local areas, the court would not object.

In fact, most local officials were thinking about how to return to Beijing, and they would not take the initiative to go out, and they would only go for money.

As for Zhang Ke, it was Wei Guangde who received his letter. Well, he wanted to change places after staying in Shaanxi for a long time. He knew that Zhejiang and Fujian were short of officials and there were frequent wars. Zhang Ke also wanted to go there to gain experience and take this opportunity to accumulate merit.

Wei Guangde told Zhang Juzheng about this and asked him to ask Xu Jie to handle it.

Fujian, that place is not a good place to go. Xu Jie arranged for her to be the censor of Liangzhe very attentively. At least Zhejiang is better than Fujian now. Except for the harassment of small groups of Japanese pirates, there are no major wars.

Shaking his head, Xu Jie didn't understand it and didn't think about it. He left Xiyuan and returned to the cabinet with Yuan Wei.

Today, there are more things to do. Originally, I was just dealing with the documents sent from various places. Now I have to call the people from the Ministry of Personnel to discuss the appointment of those officials and let them be transferred first.

At least, the dozen people mentioned by Emperor Jiajing today should be transferred first.

After they left, Emperor Jiajing sat quietly on the throne and thought for a while before saying to Huang Jin: "You heard what I said before. Arrange as soon as possible and pass the news to the princes' palaces in various places to see how they perform."

When he spoke, Huang Jin bowed and listened to the order, and agreed after Emperor Jiajing finished speaking.

Huang Jin knew in his heart that he couldn't say too much about asking the princes' palaces to raise money this time. His master was seeing how many relatives below him were of the same mind as him.

Speaking of which, although he was the emperor, he was often a little restrained when dealing with the princes in various places.

Whether it was the emperor or the court, they were short of money, but the princes and dukes were all short of money. The older they were, the richer their family was. But what could they do? The money belonged to them.

The emperor was the head of the royal family, but he couldn't command his relatives at will, let alone ask for money. He would only ask the capital for money when he inherited or divided the title, and send a lot of good things to celebrate birthdays or something.

Tribute was done according to the usual practice, and no one would give more than half a cent.

For them, the title was just like that, and they couldn't expect to be promoted by giving money to the emperor.

For those princes, when they didn't make any mistakes, Emperor Jiajing had no way to restrain them. Even if they made mistakes, he could only punish them slightly and warn them severely, and he also had to show the care between the royal family.

Even though Zhu Dianliang, the Prince of Yi who committed many evil deeds in Luoyang at the beginning of the year, was only exiled to Fengyang, the only one who was actually executed was Zhu Yingyao, the Prince of Chu who killed his father. As for the suicide of Prince Hui, in fact, Emperor Jiajing only wanted to send him to Fengyang, but he was afraid of suicide.

Because of his status, although he had already secured the throne, Emperor Jiajing was still wary of the princes' palaces in various places.

The Zongrenfu was originally established by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In the third year of Hongwu, it was called the Da Zongzhengyuan. In the twenty-second year of Hongwu, it was renamed Zongrenfu. It was an institution that managed the affairs of the royal clan.

There was one Zongrenling, one left and one right Zongzheng, one left and one right Zongren, and the first-rank official was in charge of the membership of the nine clans of the emperor. He would revise the jade book from time to time, and record the marriage, title, succession, birth and death, marriage, and posthumous burial of the children of the clan.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the official posts of the Imperial Clan Court were all held by princes, such as the first Imperial Clan Commander was Qin Wang Zhu Chong.

During the Yongle period, the Imperial Clan Court was no longer managed by princes, but was instead managed by ministers who were meritorious and foreign relatives, without any special officials.

The Imperial Clan Court was again managed by the Ministry of Rites, and all matters under its jurisdiction were transferred to the Ministry of Rites, which appointed an experienced person with a rank of the fifth grade, who was responsible for the receipt, dispatch and management of documents and archives.

This time, Emperor Jiajing wanted to issue a letter to the various princes' palaces through the Imperial Clan Court.