Chapter 1961 Lack of money again
"The second thing is that now the Northern and Southern Japanese are fighting frequently and military supplies are scarce. I intend to open up silver mines. What do you think?" Emperor Jiajing looked at Yan Song , Xu Jie and Li Ben asked slowly.
"Your Majesty is wise and seeks silver in the mines without raising taxes on the people. This is a benevolent policy, and I absolutely agree with it."
Yan Song was the first to speak.
"I second the proposal." Li Ben then seconded the proposal.
"I also agree." Xu Jie naturally had no objections. After agreeing with his hand, he further suggested, "Today's financial resources are insufficient. In addition to mining silver, I propose to mint money to help the national economy. Copper can be produced in Yunnan, Guangdong, Shandong, Fujian and other provinces minted copper coins. "
"Shan, let the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry study and implement it." Emperor Jiajing nodded appreciatively after hearing Xu Jie's suggestion.
"The silver mines in Yunnan, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces are rich, especially in Yunnan. The silver mine output accounts for nearly half of our country. When it comes to mining silver mines, we can take the lead in mining in these three provinces." Yan Song suggested, not to be outdone.
"Very good, let's start from the three provinces first." Emperor Jiajing nodded and adopted Yan Song's suggestion.
"Your Majesty, who will manage this silver mine? Is it managed by the Ministry of Household Affairs, or is it managed by a local government?" Yan Song asked.
This silver mine is a real bargain. It's extremely rich. It's easy to know which department will manage it in advance so that it can be staffed.
If the Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible, then say hello to the Ministry of Household Affairs in advance and send strict party officials to operate in advance.
If local officials are responsible for the management, then strict party officials should be transferred to Yunnan, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces in advance, especially those local officials with silver mines in their territory. They must be deployed in large numbers and have a firm grasp. in hand.
If these silver mines are firmly in the hands of our own people, then we will not have to worry about running out of silver in the future.
“We do not need to send officials from the Ministry of Commerce, nor do we need local officials to manage them. I am not going to increase their burden. I am going to send chamberlains to various silver mines and let them manage them. There are so many chamberlains in the palace, and they are idle. It's also free, so you can help me and share the worries of the Ministry of Revenue and local officials," Emperor Jiajing said calmly.
In Emperor Jiajing's heart, the loyalty of eunuchs was still higher than that of foreign ministers, because their honor and disgrace depended on him.
Uh
Emperor Jiajing wants to send eunuchs to manage the silver mines, and their names are probably "eunuchs to supervise a certain mine in a certain place". This is the rhythm of bringing the silver mines into the inner treasury
Yan Song, Xu Jie and Li Ben are all talented people. From Emperor Jiajing's personnel arrangements, we can understand Emperor Jiajing's thoughts.
The three of them looked at each other, as usual, and Li Ben was forced to leave after being signaled by Yan Song's eyes.
"Your Majesty, sending a servant to manage the silver mine is probably inconsistent with the rules, right?" Li Ben said bravely.
"Systems are also determined by people. During the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period, how could there be so many systems that were not added from generation to generation."
Emperor Jiajing said displeased.
Li Benonuo didn’t dare to say anything more.
"Your Majesty, sending chamberlains to manage the silver mines can indeed reduce the burden on the Ministry of Revenue and local officials, but unlike the Ministry of Revenue and local officials, the chamberlains lack supervision. Once the chamberlains go out, they may take advantage of the reputation of the Lord. Harm the place.”
But Xu Jie couldn't hold it back and advised him to dissuade him.
Throughout the dynasties, eunuchs’ preemptive power has always been the source of neglect of government affairs. Delegating power to eunuchs has always been the source of trouble.
The scholar-bureaucrats in the court have always opposed delegating power to eunuchs.
First of all, when the eunuchs were given power, where did the power they delegated come from? It came from the scholar-bureaucrats. In essence, the eunuchs usurped the power of the scholar-bureaucrats.
For example, the establishment of the Si Li eunuch, especially the Bingbi eunuch and the Zhangyin eunuch, took away a lot of cabinet power.
The eunuch Bingbi was responsible for reviewing the memorials for the emperor and giving instructions such as "agree" or "disagree" on various documents and memorials; the eunuch holding the seal was responsible for stamping the emperor's seal on the approved memorials and sending them to the cabinet. Follow the instructions.
One represents the mouthpiece of the Holy One, and the other represents the Great Seal. Can you tell me how much power they have.
If the eunuch holding the pen adds some personal items based on the emperor's opinions, it is entirely possible, and the cabinet often does this; if the eunuch holding the seal intentionally or unintentionally fails to seal some documents of the cabinet, it will be even more terrible. .
Not only are these two eunuchs awesome, but the eunuch Si Li, an ordinary little eunuch, goes out on business and enjoys the treatment of a third-rank official in the imperial court.
And this can entirely be the power of the cabinet.
Now Emperor Jiajing is still wise, and eunuchs such as Lu Fang and Huang Jin are relatively restrained. If there were a more mediocre emperor and ambitious eunuchs, the battle between the cabinet and the eunuchs would probably heat up in minutes.
In addition to Si Li Jian, there are also Dongchang, Xichang and Jinyiwei, who have the power of punishment and prison, and the power of inspection and arrest. How much power is divided between them.
Secondly, the eunuchs were directly responsible to the emperor and lacked supervision. They lived in deep palaces and courtyards for a long time. Moreover, they were missing a part and were not physiologically sound, which led to their psychological abnormality and their obsession with power and gold and silver. He is greedy and has an instinctive hatred towards normal people, ordinary people and even officials.
Once these people have power, they are unscrupulous and unscrupulous, harming the people and persecuting officials.
After the establishment of Jinyiwei and Dongxi Factory, there are many such typical examples. Too many to count.
Eunuchs are like wild beasts. When kept in the palace, they are just pets to watch. Once released from the palace, they become ferocious beasts that can eat people without blinking an eye.
"Once a servant goes out, he is regarded as a foreign official. Both the censor and the Yanguan can be impeached. Local officials also have the power to impeach. In addition, the Jinyiwei and the East and West factories can supervise them. They must not Make them a disaster."
Emperor Jiajing said displeased.
"Your Majesty, why don't we pilot a few silver mines and have them managed by chamberlains? The rest will still be dispatched by the Ministry of Household Affairs or managed by local governments according to the old system. After a few years of piloting, we will see the situation and whether to let the chamberlains manage. . ”
Seeing Emperor Jiajing’s insistence, Yan Song retreated and proposed a compromise plan to pilot several silver mines.
Emperor Jiajing was silent when he heard this.
Yan Song lowered his head, feeling a little uneasy.
"Then let's pilot the management of silver mines by servants in one place in Yunnan, and let the silver mines in other places be managed by personnel from the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Emperor Jiajing adopted Yan Song's opinion.
But instead of piloting several silver mines, we are piloting one place in Yunnan. But the silver mines in Yunnan accounted for half of the silver mines in the Ming Dynasty. This was nominally a pilot project, but in reality it was a 50-50 split.
This means that Emperor Jiajing wants to incorporate half of the silver mines into his inner treasury.
"The Holy One is wise."
Yan Song flattered him immediately. Emperor Jiajing owned half of the silver mines, so there was still half of the silver mines for him to deploy manpower.
"The Holy One is wise."
Li Ben also agreed.
Xu Jie pursed his lips and wanted to say something, but he held it back and agreed, "Your Majesty is wise."
"Okay, about the silver mine, you go back and push forward quickly; as for the establishment of a reserve. "You guys don't have any scruples, but if you have any thoughts, please tell me in secret," Emperor Jiajing finally told them.
“I obey the decree.”
Yan Song and others bowed to accept the decree. (End of this chapter)