Xu Jie frowned slightly when he heard the butler mention the name "Hai Rui".
He actually doesn't like Hai Rui and knows that this person is not easy to get along with.
The reason why I protected Hai Rui in the first place was not because of his reputation, but for myself.
Thinking about Hai Rui's reputation after he submitted the letter, it would be detrimental to his reputation if he didn't do anything to protect him. Moreover, Hai Rui was only a sixth-grade head of the household department before, so he couldn't catch his eye at all.
Hai Rui is valued by Qingliu, and since he claims to be a member of Qingliu, he naturally wants to protect him.
Although, in Qingliu's eyes, Xu Jie was already a turbid Liu.
The fundamental reason why he got close to Qingliu in the first place was because they had a common enemy - Yan Song.
"Master, please see if you can send a letter to the governor of the sea and ask him to suppress this matter."
The housekeeper said tentatively.
“Do you think it’s possible?”
It is not unreasonable for Hai Rui to have a prosperous official career after he was released from prison.
Originally, it would be best for someone like Hai Rui to be reinstated, but he has been pushed up by Qingliu, and the gentry and gentry in Chun'an and Xingguo have been greatly praised in the past. It also played an immeasurable role.
The name "Qingtian" is not something that just casual officials can bear.
Xu Jie didn’t know the fundamental reason why Hai Rui was sent out as governor. It was because he knew Hai Rui as a person and didn’t like him that he brought him into the General Affairs Department and let him work in this country without real power. He had to go through seniority in the yamen and was asked to move every nine years. By the time he was promoted to the rank of General Secretary, it was almost time for him to be laid to rest.
Hai Rui is an anomaly in the officialdom. No one wants to work with him. This is all because of his reputation.
Xu Jie didn't know why Hai Qingtian was so praised, but he just thought that this person might be upright, so he got the name Qingtian.
"Send someone to the governor's Yamen to inquire about the news and see what they are planning to do."
Of course Xu Jie will not give back what he got, but he also knows that something needs to be done Know Hai Rui's plan before considering how to deal with it.
This year, Xu Jie felt a little unlucky. It seemed that every big thing that happened was against him.
First, Gao Gong wanted to return to the court, which made him unable to think about food or food for a long time. At this juncture, something like this happened again.
I often worship Bodhisattva, but why does Bodhisattva not know how to protect me?
In later generations, many people thought that because of his impartiality in enforcing the law and his upright character, Hai Rui ended up with a high official position. He also gained the attention of the chief assistant Xu Jie and was constantly promoted.
So when Hai Rui tried the Xu Jie case, I felt that he was ignorant of world affairs and ungrateful.
But in fact, Hai Rui's rank is indeed very high, but in terms of actual power, he does not have much power.
Hai Rui started as an edict and was later promoted to the county magistrate level. This was actually the limit that most people could reach.
Later, due to various reasons, Hai Rui was promoted again to the Ministry of Household Affairs as a director of the Yunnan Department, responsible for accounting for Yunnan's money and grain.
At this stage, although the rank is low, it is the real power, and it always has real power in its hands.
After he was released from jail, there was no vacancy in the Ministry of Household Affairs, so Hai Rui was arranged to go to the Ministry of War, where he would still be in charge. This was a "reinstatement of official duties."
In the first year of Longqing, after the funeral of Emperor Jiajing was completed, merit-based rewards led by Xu Jie began. Hai Rui did not receive any special treatment from Xu Jie.
Hai Rui was also promoted because of his contribution to Shang Shu, and was transferred to Sicheng, Shang Bao Sicheng, responsible for the safekeeping of the seals, talismans, and seals.
In other words, as a result of Hai Rui's appointment with Shu Hou to discuss merits and reward him, he changed from being the real power holder of the Ministry of Household Affairs to a treasury manager responsible for keeping the seals and seals.
The Secretary of General Affairs who was promoted later was actually a yamen for the elderly in the Ming Dynasty.
It can be seen that Xu Jie's promotion of Hai Rui is just wishful thinking of some people.
As long as people within the system make no mistakes in their work, they should be promoted, so there is no such thing as Xu Jie promoting Hai Rui.
Of course, when Hai Rui was in jail, it was true that Xu Jie spoke out to save him, which was considered a kindness, but this was actually the responsibility of the chief assistant.
Not protecting Hai Rui would be the first assistant's dereliction of duty.
"I have met Eunuch Chen, I have met Mr. Wei."
On the palace road, two figures walked forward one after the other. The chamberlains they met on the road stepped aside and saluted.
When there was no one else on both sides of the road, Wei Guangde, who was behind him, took two steps to close the distance between him and Chen Ju, and asked in a low voice: "Is it because of the military pay that your Majesty summoned you today?"
Chen Ju, who was leading the way, slowed down and replied in a lower voice: "It should be that His Majesty has seen the memorial from the Ministry of Revenue and is aware of the problem of insufficient fiscal expenditure of the imperial court. He may also ask about it today.
Brother Wei, do you know the situation of the Ministry of Household Affairs in recent years? "
"Know a thing or two. "
Wei Guangde just frowned slightly and then relaxed. Although he is not the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the expenses of the Ministry of Revenue over the years are roughly listed and handed over to the cabinet every year, and military pay is a large part of it, so I still probably remember.
The most taboo thing for cabinet ministers is to be in the office. When the emperor asks questions, you don't know anything about them.
As I said before, most of the cabinet's handling of government affairs is based on old rules. Only when there are things that don't have old rules, you need to use your brain to find a way. Come up with a solid countermeasure, but there are not many such things after all
But the essence of the cabinet is the emperor’s secretariat, which provides consultation for the emperor’s decision-making. Therefore, you may not know what the emperor knows, but you must be able to answer what the emperor wants to know, otherwise your existence will lose its meaning.
Wei Guangde has a good memory. In just a moment, the data reported by the Ministry of Revenue in the past has appeared in his mind.
As long as he didn't suddenly ask for something he hadn't prepared, and just asked the household department for money, Wei Guangde was confident that he could still handle it.
As for why the Ministry of Household Affairs is involved, it has to start from the fact that the cabinet vote is feasible, and the Beijing Camp Rongzheng petition has reached the full quota of troops.
The Beijing Camp requested to replenish its troops. The Ministry of War thought there was nothing wrong with it, and the cabinet did not think it was wrong either, so they all agreed.
When the memorial was in the hands of the emperor, his opinion was of course the same as everyone else's. He also felt that the Beijing camp should be fully staffed according to the system, so with a stroke of a pen, the matter was settled.
After the decree was issued, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs discussed the allocation of additional military pay, but the Ministry of Household Affairs immediately stopped doing so.
In fact, for a long time, most of the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue went to the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of War had become an out-and-out gold-swallowing beast in the Ming Dynasty. It is true that the capital camp is full, and the soldiers who are dissatisfied will naturally be paid. This is also true, but the mistake is that the Ministry of Household Affairs cannot come up with money, and the Ministry of Household Affairs Council also believes that it cannot just let it go.
If this is done, then most of the towns under the Ministry of War will have a shortage of soldiers. Inland provinces, especially those close to the North such as Shandong, will send guest soldiers. Supplementing the defense of border towns, and their transfer caused headaches to the various departments who were already dissatisfied with the staff.
If the capital camp can be fully charged and the Ministry of Household Soldiers' salaries are increased, what should other towns do if they do the same?
So the Ministry of Revenue simply stopped talking to the Ministry of War, and instead handed the memorial directly to the emperor for the emperor to make a decision.
"Your Majesty has been looking through the memorials submitted by the Ministry of Finance in the past two days. He is also very embarrassed."
Chen Ju whispered about the situation in the past two days.
When the two of them arrived outside Qianqing Palace, Wei Guangde was quickly called into the palace after the announcement.
"Shandai, get up. There are no outsiders here, and there is no need to perform the courtesy of a monarch or a minister."
Emperor Longqing saluted when Wei Guangde entered the palace and said immediately.
When he was in Yuzhuan before, whether he summoned Gao Gong, Wei Guangde, or others, everyone just bowed their hands and saluted. Therefore, even though he had been emperor for several years, he was still not used to it. I saw these people kneeling and worshiping in front of me.
Is Wei Guangde willing to kneel?
Of course I don’t want to, but the times are like this, so I just admit it by pinching my nose.
When he first came here, Wei Guangde might still have the concept of equality in his heart, but now, his thoughts have changed subtly.
Don't look at him kneeling to the emperor, there are a lot of people kneeling to him outside, and they all rush to kneel in front of him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Wei Guangde stood up only after completing the salute, and then stood solemnly below waiting for the emperor's inquiry.
“You should be aware of the quarrel between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household regarding the Beijing camp.”
Emperor Longqing got straight to the point when he opened his mouth, and it turned out to be exactly what happened.
“When my father was in power, I heard that the state was short of funds. I didn’t ask about it before. I just said how much money the Ministry of Revenue had received and how much money it had spent in the three years since I came to the throne. , why is the national treasury in such a bad state? "
Emperor Longqing really came to him to ask about the Ministry of Household data. The emperor actually did not directly summon Liu Tigan to ask about these figures, but asked the cabinet. Wei Guangde couldn't help but have doubts in his heart. Did Liu Tigan evil the emperor?
Perhaps, the emperor did not trust the Ministry of Revenue, so he went to the cabinet. After all, although the cabinet cannot manage the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue must report its work results to the cabinet.
However, there was no time to think carefully about what happened between the emperor and Liu Tiqian. Wei Guangde just thought about it and said: "Reporting to your majesty, since the first year of the year, all kinds of silver have been taxed on grain, grass, salt and silver for households in the thirteen provinces. And Kainatong totals 11.99 million taels
The funding has been 9.29 million yuan, and the remaining funds are 2.7 million yuan.
Today, more than 200,000 yuan of silver should be used to supply the border pay and the army's salary, cloth and flowers. Each border should use 2.8 million silver per year. What is taken in cannot be equal to what is taken out.
This is also the reason why the Ministry of Revenue reported a deficit. Although Taicang still had silver in the treasury, the silver had to be shipped to the border towns before the year, so there was a deficit of 300,000 taels of silver. "
Wei Guangde is still very familiar with addition and subtraction. After adding and subtracting the figures from the Ministry of Household Affairs in the past three years, he opened his mouth and reported the data requested by Emperor Longqing.
As for what is said later The border rates, official and military salary reductions, and the annual regulations of each border were written in the previous memorials to the Ministry of Household Affairs, otherwise Wei Guangde would not be so clear
The cabinet did not draft the memorandum. It was just to show the figures of the Ministry of Revenue to His Majesty. They did not need to give any opinions.
However, the contents of the memorial were carefully read by the cabinet ministers. After all, this is very important data for governing.
“I remember that when Taizu set up a military garrison, there was no need for the court to allocate military salaries. In my impression, the first time the court allocated military salaries was because of the establishment of Liaodong Town. Why is there so much military salary now?”
In the education of Emperor Longqing, in addition to the classics and history, the systems established by Zhu Yuanzhang were also part of the study.
However, if you follow what the book says and compare it with reality, there will definitely be a lot of confusion.
After Wei Guangde thought for a while, he replied: "Your Majesty, during the ancestral dynasty, the country's border preparation system only had four towns in Yansui, Datong, Xuanfu, Liaodong, and later seven in Jizhou, Ningxia, Gansu, and nine in Guyuan and Shanxi. Today Miyun, Changping, Yongping and Yizhou are all listed Border towns.
In addition to the main troops of each town, they also added recruited troops and guest troops.
The troops of one town were enough to defend the territory of one town. The cavalry plundered until the troops could no longer defend, so they increased the number of troops and recruited more troops. If there is not enough, we will increase the number of guest soldiers, and the number of people who sit down and eat will be more than before.
It is suitable to use the squid. Each town originally had its own farmland. The farmland of an army is enough to support an army. The rear garrisons. When there is insufficient food, add people's food; when there is insufficient people's food, add salt and food. There is not enough salt and grain to transport the money from the capital, and if it exceeds the normal amount and is wasted, it will be very harmful.
The treasury is empty and the national budget is getting weaker. The fields are depleted and the people's resources are exhausted. Today's shortage is the reason for the shortage. The cost is huge.”
The Ming Dynasty implemented the military garrison system. A garrison town was enough to support a town of soldiers and horses. There was no need to use civilian food and court pay, but that was in the early Ming Dynasty.
After the "Tumubao Incident" occurred in the Zhengtong years, the pressure on the northern border of the Ming Dynasty increased sharply. The court began to add border towns to stabilize the border defense. Because the border towns had insufficient troops, they began to recruit troops. Later, due to insufficient recruitment, They began to draw guest soldiers from the mainland guards.
With the gathering of large armies, although the security of border towns has been stabilized, military expenditures have also increased, especially the mobilization of guest troops requires more silver and grain.
Of course, Wei Guangde did not mention the collapse of the military system. After all, if this matter was revealed, it would offend all the noble generals of the Ming Dynasty, or even lose his life.
But at the very least, by saying this, Emperor Longqing probably understood the reason why in the early Ming Dynasty, the money and grain from the imperial court occupied most of the national funds now.
"I have read the past reports from the Ministry of Household Affairs. From the time when the old treasury was used in the previous dynasty, to today the old treasury has been depleted. It is all due to military pay?"
Emperor Longqing asked a question, that is, why the military pay is so needed? Much money?
You must know that from the establishment of the Ming Dynasty until the Zhengde Dynasty, the court's revenue and expenditure could at least be barely balanced. Even if there was a deficit, it could often be made up in the second or third year, and the old treasury was never used. of silver.
But in the Jiajing Dynasty, the state's use increased suddenly, to the point where Laoku had to be used.
And even in the Jiajing Dynasty, it was indeed very rare for several old treasuries sealed by the previous dynasty to be exhausted in just over twenty years.
However, the Jiajing Dynasty's depletion of national power was not entirely due to military pay. Although military pay was indeed an important reason for the court's deficit, it was definitely not the fundamental reason.
"Your Majesty, have you ever remembered that in the 41st year of Jiajing, Lin Runlin once said in a memorial to the imperial censor, "The wealth of the world is four million shi of rice for the capital every year, and 800 dan of rice for every place." 530,000 stones. The number of losses to the capital is almost doubled. Year after year, it becomes more and more unfavorable. How can we support the exhaustion of the previous dynasty? Laoku was actually the reason why the vassals complained to the imperial court.
During the Taizu period, the vassal vassals were not allowed to operate the four private industries, and all members of the clan were entitled to salary. The vassals complained to the late emperor. The late emperor can only try his best to be satisfied. If the grain and rice are insufficient, he will break the silver. The longer the deficit is, the bigger the deficit will be. "
Wei Guangde replied.
Emperor Longqing immediately became silent when he heard that it was the clan and military salaries that were dragging down the Jiajing Dynasty's finances.
Because he has realized that the stubborn diseases of the Jiajing Dynasty seem to still exist in the Longqing Dynasty.