Chapter 692 791 Qi Jiguang Reports on Border Affairs

"At that time, Taizu was wise and powerful, but he did not expect that the imperial government's finances would be unable to make ends meet due to the sudden increase in Lumi.

Chen Qingchen of the Ministry of Finance has carefully read the copy, and if the Lumi method of the Hongwu period is maintained, the Ministry of household affairs will not be short of money for His Majesty to purchase gems and pearls, but..."

When Wei Guangde said this, his words suddenly stopped.

"But what?"

Emperor Longqing asked.

"Your Majesty, I have seen the allocation of Lumi in various places this year. The amount is staggering. If there were no such expenditures, the Ministry of Revenue would not be out of money."

Wei Guangde just reminded.

"But there is no way to do this. These are the rules left by our ancestors. The children of the clan will naturally be supported by the imperial court."

Emperor Longqing just said.

"Yes, Taizu has set the rules, and naturally they cannot be changed without authorization. However, Your Majesty can also punish the offending feudal king according to the ancestors' instructions."

"How to punish?"

Wei Guangde said the punishment, and Emperor Longqing immediately asked.

"Except the country."

Wei Guangde raised his head and looked directly at Emperor Longqing, and then said: "The imperial court is short of a prince. Although it is only a loss of ten thousand stone and rice a year, the prince's son is a county prince. Over time, this expense will not be small."

"I remember that I asked you for a plan to reform the clan. Have you already thought of it?"

As they talked, Emperor Longqing vaguely remembered that when he was still in the palace, he felt the harm of the clan system when chatting with Wei Guangde, so he asked Wei Guangde to make suggestions.

"I am stupid, and I haven't thought of a way to get the best of both worlds yet."

Wei Guangde lowered his head and said.

"Well, this matter is not that easy to say. If it were simple, it would have been solved long ago."

Emperor Longqing sighed.

“Your Majesty, although this matter is difficult to handle, it does not mean that we will do nothing.

Take this case of the King of Liao, for example. Since he committed a heinous crime, the court should deal with him decisively and banish him from the country. This way Huguang will save a lot of money in the future. "

Wei Guangde circled back and said.

"I know what you mean."

Emperor Longqing understood the meaning of Wei Guangde's words. The main reason why the imperial court was unable to make ends meet was that the clan's Lumi expenditure continued to increase, which led to a decrease in materials and money for the relief of the capital in various places. The reduction in household income naturally made it difficult to make ends meet.

Wei Guangde thought that by reducing the rank of the offending clan, he could more or less alleviate some of Lumi's expenses. Although it was not much, according to what he meant, in the long run, it was still a large number.

"Do you think I should cut down the Liao vassal?"

Emperor Longqing seemed to be asking, but actually he already had the answer in his heart.

If the clan has no faults, it cannot be moved, but if it makes mistakes, it will be punished by thunder and rain.

"The vassalage should be reduced."

Wei Guangde's answer this time was also very direct, telling the answer that Emperor Longqing wanted to say but had never said.

After being distracted by Wei Guangde, Emperor Longqing was not only determined to get rid of the Liao vassal, but his dissatisfaction with Ma Sen was somewhat relieved.

However, when Wei Guangde resigned, Emperor Longqing suddenly stopped him again.

"You should pay more attention to the affairs of the clan. If you think of a way, just write a statement and give it to me directly. There is no need to pretend to be the ceremonial supervisor."

"I obey the order."

Wei Guangde hurriedly bowed.

"I know that you are also very busy in the cabinet, but this matter is important. I remember that we also discussed this matter when we were in Yuzhuan.

Although we can still put it off now, we have to find a way in the end.

It is said that various places cannot afford the supply of Lumi due to too much, and they often default on Lumi to those estranged clan members, making the livelihood of the clan members unguaranteed.

The local government is in arrears with Lumi, so it naturally no longer cares about the weddings and funerals of these people. What's more, there are many people who are over thirty years old and have not been buried for ten years.

Is there any? "

Wei Guangde blinked. These things were mentioned in the court documents, but the civil servants would not report these things to the emperor. How did he know?

But soon, Wei Guangde thought of Jin Yiwei.

Only they would report such a thing. Emperor Longqing was also calm, or he probably didn't care about these poor relatives at all.

In the current Ming Dynasty, only those nearby vassal kings and their descendants can still guarantee the supply of Lumi on time, but more members of the clan are living in dire straits. It can be said that the division between the rich and the poor in the clan has become serious.

Due to their status, these people were trapped by the ancestral precepts set by Zhu Yuanzhang and could not engage in the work of the four people, nor could they participate in the imperial examination and embark on an official career to make a living.

"No need to guess. I made my own guess after reading the documents sent by the princes from various places in the past ten years, as well as the punishments imposed by my father on some lawless members of the clan."

"Um?"

Hearing what Emperor Longqing said, Wei Guangde became even more suspicious. He didn't know what the emperor saw or what he thought.

“Some of them actually came up with the idea of ​​entering the high wall in order to eat.

Zhu Qintie, the lieutenant of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, was deprived of his title by his father and sent to Fengyang because of his comments on current affairs. In order to survive, his son actually imitated the same and wrote the "Four Strategies of ZTE" just to follow his father. Enter the high wall. "

Emperor Longqing said in a depressed mood, "You are the only person around me who has the most solutions, so I will leave this matter to you and come up with a way for me to solve this matter.

As long as it's not troublesome, I'll do it. Even if it's inappropriate, I won't blame you. "

When Wei Guangde heard this, he felt relieved. It turned out that the news was sent to the capital by the feudal prince's palace. No wonder the emperor knew this.

He nodded, bowed and replied: "I understand, I will try my best to find a way to solve this matter."

After Wei Guangde left the palace, he was still thinking about the royal family on his way back to the cabinet.

This matter was neither big nor small. The main thing was that the "Huang Ming Zu Xun" set by Zhu Yuanzhang was in the way. Otherwise, there were many solutions and it would have been handled long ago.

If he could find a way to solve this matter, it would inevitably contradict the "Huang Ming Zu Xun" and be very troublesome.

In the Qianqing Palace, after Wei Guangde said goodbye, Emperor Longqing called the little eunuch who was sent to call people and asked in detail about the whole process of him and Wei Guangde meeting Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin after leaving the cabinet. He knew that during this period, no one of them mentioned the audience today, but just exchanged a few words.

After calling the little eunuch out, Emperor Longqing continued to sit on the throne in a trance. Even if Meng Chong said he would go to the back to have fun, he did not let the emperor leave the palace.

There is no doubt that with the support of Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde, Emperor Longqing was determined to eliminate the feudal system.

It is not okay to remove the vassal without reason, but it is certainly okay if he is guilty.

"Meng Chong, tell the cabinet that Liao Wang Xian Xuan is guilty, strip him of his title and demote him to a commoner, imprison him behind high walls, and abolish his country."

In the quiet palace, the oral order of Emperor Longqing was heard, and Meng Chong hurriedly took a few steps and knelt down to receive the imperial order.

"Xian Xuan is presumptuous and cruel, has committed many crimes, violated the ancestral teachings, and has committed many crimes. The officials have verified and reported him, and the law should be followed. Temporarily deprive him of his title and imprison him, and remove his hereditary title. Send the son-in-law Wu Jinghe to report to the Taimiao, and the Zongrenfu will inform all the princes in a letter, and send all the parties to the censors for questioning."

"I obey the order."

After listening to the content of the order orally narrated by Emperor Longqing, Meng Chong hurriedly fell to the ground and shouted loudly.

"Go to the cabinet to convey my order."

After giving the order, Meng Chong got up and left the palace, trotting to the cabinet.

Emperor Longqing leaned back on the throne. This means that a country will be eliminated. There will be no more Liao kings in the Ming Dynasty, and no Liao kings will appear in the future.

Emperor Longqing didn't know what would happen if this decree was passed to other clans, but he didn't care.

He knew the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty when he was in hiding.

Although the elimination of the vassal state would not have much effect on improving the finances, it would still be beneficial in the long run.

In fact, although the princes of the Ming Dynasty were nominally paid 10,000 dan of rice, most of them actually took the initiative to ask for an order to reduce their salary. Many people only received half of their salary, that is, 5,000 dan, and some received even less, but this was generally a fine after making mistakes.

It's just that the clans received too much rice, and even after the discount, it was still a huge expense.

Meng Chong quickly went to the cabinet with the emperor's decree and went straight to Li Chunfang's duty room.

When he arrived at the door, he went straight into the duty room of the Prime Minister without waiting for the Zhongshu to pass on the message. Although this place seemed sacred to civil officials, he was not an ordinary person, but a close minister of the emperor.

Even the cabinet ministers would respectfully call him "Eunuch Meng" when they saw him outside, so in his heart, he did not take Li Chunfang seriously at all.

But he was stunned after entering the room. There were Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde in the room.

The three people were also surprised that someone entered the room without passing on the message, and they all looked over at this time.

Just when several people were stunned, Wei Guangde reacted quickly and immediately stood up and smiled: "Oh, this is not Eunuch Meng, I don't know what wind blew you here."

"Lord Li, Lord Chen, Lord Wei, you three are all here, hehe, I am here to pass on the emperor's order."

After Wei Guangde spoke, Meng Chong came back to his senses, thinking that he was afraid of them, so he also smiled and answered.

When they heard that Meng Chong was coming to deliver the imperial edict, the three of them looked at each other and understood.

As expected, as Meng Chong read out the emperor's edict, the three of them felt relieved.

"Yi Fu, you will draft the edict."

After Meng Chong said his intention, Li Chunfang immediately ordered.

"Okay."

Chen Yiqin agreed. The imperial edict should be treated with caution. Even if he drafted it, it would be read by several people in the cabinet before it was handed over to the Silijian.

After the edict was delivered, Meng Chong said a few words of greeting and left to return to the palace.

After he left, Chen Yiqin smiled and said, "As the Prime Minister said, His Majesty issued an order so quickly."

"Haha, His Majesty should have the same idea, but he is a little hesitant, so we need to make a decision for him."

Li Chunfang smiled, and then said seriously, "It seems that His Majesty may not have taken the matter of Minister Ma to heart. Otherwise, according to Shandai's previous answer, His Majesty should still be angry with the Ministry of Revenue and would not have issued an order so quickly."

"However, the court's finances are still It's a big problem. "

Chen Yiqin continued, "Today I received a memorial from Pang Shangpeng, the chief censor of Jiangbei Salt Station, who wanted to pack the surplus salt. I rejected it, but I thought that this batch of surplus salt would subsidize the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue would collect money to issue salt permits when needed. If it passed through the Salt Administration Office, I don't know how much would be intercepted.

I originally said that I would tell the Prime Minister later, but this happened to be said at the same time. "

"Salt tax, banknote customs, the Ministry of Revenue can only collect money from the silver."

Li Chunfang nodded and said.

"The silver from the banknote customs is now used by the Ministry of Revenue to pay the salaries of Beijing officials, and it is generally not used for other purposes."

Chen Yiqin said, "Seeing that it is the end of the year, I dare not move it."

As the decree that the Liao King Zhu Xian was stripped of his title and imprisoned behind high walls was announced, the court officials who were originally crowded in the Tongzhengsi, and the public outcry suddenly scattered.

There was no need to submit the memorials in their hands anymore. Even the half-copied memorials by the clerks in the Ministry of Civil Affairs were taken back, and the officials left directly.

In the following days, the court returned to its old ways. All the government offices reported what should be reported and handled what should be handled. The court was calm for a while.

However, Ma Sen may have felt that he had repeatedly offended the emperor and was afraid of future troubles, so he asked to return home on the grounds of his mother's old age and illness. However, this memorial was sent to the palace, and Emperor Longqing said that he was a minister of state and the prime minister was concerned about the national affairs. How could he retire repeatedly because of his mother's personal feelings? He should wait until he was well and serve immediately, and he would not resign.

For the current Emperor Longqing, even if he had some opinions about Ma Sen in his heart, he would definitely not let Ma Sen leave before finding an official who was better at managing money.

However, Chen Yiqin, Yin Shizhan and Wei Guangde were all summoned by Emperor Longqing at different times and asked if there was anyone who was good at managing money.

Wei Guangde naturally didn't know whether Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng were asked this question, which meant that the three of them would sometimes communicate with each other and keep sharing information.

As the decree to punish the King of Liao was issued, the King of Lu, who was close to the capital, was the first to receive the documents from the clan office, and their reaction was somewhat unexpected by Wei Guangde and others.

In the view of Li Chunfang and other cabinet ministers, the emperor's punishment of the King of Liao was illegal, and the news was passed to the princes' palaces in various places. The princes should have a crackdown on the members of the clan, at least to avoid the limelight and not commit crimes again for the time being.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yiyuan, the King of Lu, and Zhu Zaiyang, the King of De, each submitted a petition to resign the rice salary, requesting that the original 5,000 shi of rice salary be changed to 2,000 shi for the King of Lu and 1,000 shi for the King of De.

Because of Wei Guangde's words, the worried Emperor Longqing was overjoyed to see the petition, and he immediately approved their request and sent someone to grant an imperial edict.

As the King of Lu and the King of De took the lead, other princes followed suit and asked to resign part of the rice salary.

In fact, a few thousand shi more or less of grain every year is really nothing to these princes. The main income of those princes' palaces is actually from farmland and local commercial taxes.

Many royal families used the taxation office and Hebo office granted by the emperor to collect commercial taxes in local areas. Of course, they could not collect much if they followed the court's laws, but now that they were granted, they would naturally not let the money slip away in vain.

However, at this time, Wei Guangde also met Qi Jiguang, who had just returned to Beijing, in his mansion.

After Qi Jiguang received the right to train troops in Jizhou, Changping and Baoding, he hurried back and forth between various places, ostensibly to supervise the training of troops, but in fact he was also selecting strong men, forming a separate army, and then arranging routes and ordering them to go to the Beijing camp immediately.

It was this short glance that Qi Jiguang, who had returned to the capital, had to find Wei Guangde directly after knowing that Tan Lun had gone out to patrol the border.

After meeting and greeting, Qi Jiguang flattered a lot, and then handed a draft of his memorial to Wei Guangde, asking him to help correct it.

"Memorial on border affairs?"

Hearing Qi Jiguang's words, Wei Guangde just frowned, and then opened it and read it.

"You just took a quick look and found so many problems?"

After quickly reading the first draft of the document, Wei Guangde frowned even more deeply. (End of this chapter)