Chapter 30 The third round of crisis

The first time he heard that there was an armed fight in the food storage warehouse, the little emperor seemed very nervous.Empress Dowager Li also asked anxiously: "Why did Jin Yiwei go there to fight?" No one present could answer.Zhang Juzheng said: "I will investigate this matter now." After saying that, he left Yuntai and hurried back to the cabinet. Just passed the Huiji gate and entered the cabinet yard, and saw Wang Zhuan scurrying around like a cat from a long distance.As soon as he saw him, Zhang Juzheng understood that he came because of what happened in the storage warehouse, because the soldiers guarding the warehouse were under his jurisdiction.Zhang Juzheng was also eager to know what happened, so he walked over quickly.Wang Zhuan also caught a glimpse of him at this time, and hurried over, before he had time to salute, he said, "Shoufu, something serious has happened."

Zhang Juzheng asked as he walked towards his room.Wang Zhuan followed behind, a little surprised and said: "Oh, the chief assistant already knows?" Without turning his head, Zhang Juzheng said, "The news from Dongchang is faster than yours. Tell me, why? Something?" "Isn't it because of pepper and sumac!" "It's really because of this!" Zhang Juzheng's heart sank, and he couldn't help thinking of something that happened a few days ago.  On that day, the new Minister of the Household Department, Wang Guoguang, came to pay respects to the cabinet. When talking about tea, Zhang Juzheng said: "Brother Ru Guan, I heard that after you, the great Situ, took office, the Household Department’s yamen has taken on a new look. At this time when the old and the new are changing, Many yamen are almost paralyzed. The officials are all focused on watching the wind, and have no mind to do things. The Ministry of Households is not the same. The clearing of accounts, the inventory of the warehouse, and the reminder of the collection of various functional departments are much busier than in the past. Times. Without my brother's grasp, this situation would not have happened." "Sir Shoufu's praise is really ashamed of the lowly position." Wang Guoguang waved his hands and shook his head. Although his eyes were full of confidence, his tone of voice But very humble. This Wang Guoguang looks to be about fifty years old, with a tall figure, although his belly is slightly fat but not bloated, his stomach is plump, his nose is tall and fleshy, his facial features and sinuses are all decent, he looks like a rich man Precious and superior.He was a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Jiajing, and his title on the gold list was three years earlier than Zhang Juzheng.In the fourth year of Longqing, he was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing and transferred to Minister of the Ministry of Households in Beijing.This time Zhang Juzheng asked him to replace Zhang Ben until he took up his duties in the Ministry. The rank was not raised, but the authority was increased.He is from Yangcheng County, Henan Province, and he and Gao Gong can be regarded as more than half of the fellow villagers, but emotionally he is closer to Zhang Juzheng.This is all because twenty years ago, when Zhang Juzheng was the editor of the Imperial Academy and Wang Guoguang was the doctor of the Ministry of Officials, they were both proud of their talents, and they were considered outstanding figures among the young officials in the capital.Therefore, the two became close friends with each other, and they were quite critical of Yan Song, who was powerful and powerful at the time. Their whereabouts were quickly noticed by the second assistant Xu Jie. Under the door, teach them the art of political forbearance.These two stunned youths who had just entered the official career were preserved, and they were promoted and reused when Xu Jie was the chief assistant in the Longqing Dynasty, and became the pillars of the court.Both of them have become Xu Jie's disciples, they have the same political views and they also have friendship from the same school, so their relationship is naturally extraordinary.This time, Zhang Juzheng strongly recommended Wang Guoguang to be in charge of the household department, which also caused a lot of rumors, saying that Zhang Juzheng was appointed with private parties.During the period, the two met several times, but Zhang Juzheng never said a word about it.For this alone, Wang Guoguang was grateful, and he worked extra hard to rectify the household department and create a new situation.At this moment, sitting in Zhang Juzheng's value room, Wang Guoguang went on to say: "The Ministry of Households controls the country's finances. How can we be a good shopkeeper for the emperor? This place is very famous. I have not been in the Ministry yet. Month, I have already touched some situations and seen some disadvantages, and I am thinking about how to change the old ways and do a few things in a down-to-earth manner. Since the thinking has not been straightened out, I am not in a hurry to report to your chief assistant. We have just mentioned , Today, there is something urgent to report to the chief assistant." 

"What's the matter?" "The treasury has run out of money."  "Ah? Before Gao Gong left office, didn't he say he still had 400,000 taels?" "Fourty thousand taels, huh, those are Zhang Ben's outright lies." Wang Guoguang said angrily, "In the past few days, all the accounts have been checked and verified, and there is actually only two hundred thousand taels in the treasury. The so-called four hundred thousand taels are the The 200,000 taels of silver that Gao Gong promised to give to Yin Zhengmao will also be counted. However, the money has been transferred for more than three months." Hearing these words, Zhang Juzheng immediately thought of Zhu Heng.He came to meet the stubborn old man and asked him to stay on as Minister of the Ministry of Industry. Zhu Heng didn't say anything, but only made one condition, that the Chaobai River project fund of 200,000 taels of silver must be allocated in full in the near future.Zhang Juzheng agreed to him out of helplessness.So he went on to ask: "Has the 200,000 taels of silver for the Chaobai River project been allocated?" I had to give it to him. If he stopped making trouble, I would run out of fuel here. A dignified minister of the household department can't get a tael of silver in his pocket. In the past two hundred years of the kingdom, it is really a shame. There is no one before!" Wang Guoguang sighed, which made Zhang Juzheng feel sad. He subconsciously stretched out his fingers to comb his long beard, and asked, "You see, there must be some silver income." "Yes, there is still, at the beginning of the year , the Thirteenth Division of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the relevant yamen jointly approved that the tax that should be collected across the country this year is 2.7 million taels of silver, but the annual expenditure needs to be more than 2 to 4 million taels of silver, which does not include the death of the late emperor and the new The unexpected large expenses of the emperor's ascension to the throne, in short, he was living beyond his means." "Didn't you say that there are still arrears over the years? How much is this amount?" "Over five million," Wang Guoguang waved with a hand , and then sighed, "This is only the arrears accumulated since the second year of Longqing. If the money is collected, we will not be so stretched and sigh without rice." The top priority of the ministry, you have to use your brains on this matter." "We have already figured out the idea, the first step is to replace all the taxation censors of the top ten censors in the country, and replace them with young ones. An official who is willing to work for the country. This is a major event, and we will come back to ask for instructions in two days." "Why don't we discuss it today?" Zhang Juzheng asked impatiently. 

"Today, there are more urgent matters than this."  "Ah?" "Uncle, what is the day after tomorrow?" "July 20," Zhang Juzheng blurted out. He didn't know what kind of medicine was in Wang Guoguang's gourd, so he asked in confusion, "Why are you asking this?" When he came out, he just twitched the corners of his mouth and said kindly: "You are too big to do specific things, so I can't remember. In a few days, it will be the day when the monthly salary will be paid. The officials in the capital have a total of one to twenty thousand People, the real salary that should be paid out every month is 120,000 taels of silver. But where can I find this money now?" "Can't think of any way?" Zhang Juzheng asked. 

"If there is still a way to think about it, we won't come to Luozhao you. It's really the end of the mountain!" Wang Guoguang spread his hands and looked bitter. It was only then that Zhang Juzheng felt that the situation was serious. In the first month after a chief assistant took office, the Beijing officials could not receive their salary.Zhang Juzheng suddenly felt that his chest was congested and his throat was dry and smoky.While he was sipping tea, Wang Guoguang continued: "Thousands of difficulties can't be overcome. It's just these two months. After these two months, we will have a solution." Zhang Juzheng said "Yes", still thinking Asked: "Is there no silver in the banknote bank in the neighboring state capital?" "The salaries of officials in various provincial governments are all drawn from the banknote treasury of each provincial government. Due to years of ineffective collection of taxes, most of the provincial government's banknote treasury is also unable to make ends meet.

If you transfer his money, it is tantamount to depriving him of the salary of a provincial official. Even if the provincial governor agrees, the officials below will not agree.After such arguing, he was not allowed to go to the ground for half a month.The matter here cannot be resolved, and a new hornet's nest has been poked out over there. "" Looking for a temporary loan from a wealthy businessman in the capital? " "This is even more unavoidable. One is that it loses the dignity of the dynasty, and if it is recorded in the annals of history, it will be cast aside by future generations. Second, don't think that officials usually love money like their lives. If you tell me that this month's salary is borrowed from businessmen If you get it, public opinion will immediately boil. Those court officials who claim to be direct disciples of Confucius will all become Boyi Shuqi, who is ashamed to eat Zhou Su, and feel that he has suffered a great shame. Impeach our All kinds of memorials will flood into the inner court one after another, isn't this just looking for trouble?" "Then, we will temporarily delay in arrears for one month." 

"You can't owe even if you owe it. You, the chief assistant, owed the officials' salaries in the first month of your tenure. What do people think of you?" Can you suffocate with urine?" Wang Guoguang met Zhang Juzheng's gaze and said, "We have a bad idea." "Please tell me." "All the discounted silver this month will be converted into real-kind discounts." "Real object, what object?" Wang Guoguang said slowly: "There are more than 20 treasuries managed by the Ministry of Households in the capital. Except for the banknote treasury, which is empty, the rest of the treasury are full. Inkstones, gongs, drums, cymbals, charcoal, rice, oil, salt, bamboo, wood and rattan lacquer are all available. According to statistics, there are more than 700 varieties. These things were originally used for the daily expenses of the imperial government, but the amount paid was too large to be used. End. Some items have been mildewed and deteriorated due to being in the warehouse for too long. Every year, the minimum loss reported by the treasurers is hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. According to the foolishness of the job, simply select a few items in stock and discount them as officials It is a no-brainer, and it can be regarded as the best of both worlds." "That's a good idea," Zhang Juzheng said with a smile, "Well, Wang Guoguang, keep saying There is no way at all, it turned out to be a trick."  "Didn't we say that this is a useless move, a bad idea."

Zhang Juzheng stretched out his hand to rub his forehead, and after thinking calmly, he said, "I'm afraid there will be resistance to the implementation of this matter. How many officials should be dissatisfied with sitting in this chief assistant seat? They are looking for bones in their eggs and looking for trouble." There are a lot of people. Therefore, we have to carefully consider the cause and effect of everything we do. It seems that there has been a precedent in the country for discounting salary in kind. I will ask the Book Office to look into it later."  "There is no need to check. , we remember. In the fifth year of Chenghua, Li Jian, the censor, was ordered to inspect the internal treasury, and found that the silk silk silk and brown silk cloth quilts in each treasury, as well as several cases of calligraphy and painting, copper, tin, magnetic wood and other utensils, were entrusted to the accumulation of dust and decayed over time. Therefore, please fill up the salary banknotes. The emperor approves the decree." Wang Guoguang calmly said that he would not use books to answer questions fluently when it comes to national finances, no matter how big or small it is, whether it is ancient or modern.This alone made Zhang Juzheng feel at ease, and he secretly rejoiced that he had recommended someone.And thus sighed: In the officialdom, there are too few sensible people like Wang Guoguang. "You view, since there are examples from previous dynasties, there is evidence to base this matter on." Zhang Juzheng regained confidence in his eyes, "It's just that we need to discuss in detail what kind of material to pay for the salary." " This, we have also thought about it." Wang Guoguang immediately replied, "Pepper sumac is used. First, the national treasury has a large collection of these two items, and there is enough supply. Second, pepper sumac has always been monopolized by the market, and the people are not allowed to disperse them. Therefore, it is easy for officials to cash them out by discounting them for salaries." Wang Guoguang thought everything carefully, which made Zhang Juzheng feel that his thinking was superfluous.However, he still couldn't help asking: "In this case, this matter will be handled according to your thinking. Although the servant is not familiar with the market situation, he also knows that pepper sumac has always been valued at a high price, so when the salary is discounted, I still look at you. Don't be too stingy, give the officials a little bit more profit."  "You don't need to worry about this, the stupid post will handle it." 

"Also, for the sake of prudence, you write this matter as an excerpt and submit it to the emperor for approval." "The excerpt has been drawn up. Please look over it."  Wang Guoguang took out the memorial from his sleeve and handed it over, Zhang Juzheng took it and said with a smile, "Ru Guan, so you have planned it for a long time!" Entering the value room, Zhang Juzheng withdrew his thoughts, followed by Wang Zhuan, who just sat down and explained in detail what happened in the storage warehouse.However, within half an hour after Zhang Dalang went wild, Wang Zhuan rushed to the scene with his troops after hearing the news, and the fighting had stopped at that time.When Zhang Dalang heard that Wang Song was dead, he felt guilty, and he also knew that making troubles under the emperor's feet was not fun, so he rubbed the soles of his feet with oil and slipped away.However, there is still a sea of ​​people crowded in front of the food storage warehouse.Those who watched the excitement and received discounts were mixed together.Because of such a commotion, the military men who were already resentful, this time it added fuel to the fire.Although the leader Zhang Dalang left, they did not relax.I saw this one pulling his sleeves and squeezing his fists, that one stabbing his mother and scolding me, you jumping up and down for fear that the world will not be chaotic, I have a black head and a black face like the king of Hades.Seeing Wang Zhuan leading troops to suppress them, they were not afraid at all - because they believed that they were all nobles with hairpin tassels, so Wang Zhuan would not dare to do anything to them.At this time, Wang Guoguang's eight-person sedan chair happened to be carried, and he was immediately besieged and abused by the military men.Some spat at him, others threw stones at him.In a panic, someone hit his forehead with a stone, and blood flowed profusely.Wang Guoguang originally rushed to deal with the problem non-stop after receiving the letter, but he was scolded and beaten before he got out of the sedan chair, and the soldiers wished they could swallow him alive.Thanks to Wang Zhuan's desperate rescue, he stuffed him back into the sedan chair, and left the storage warehouse surrounded by patrolmen.Otherwise, it is hard to say whether he will become Wang Song's second. Listening to Wang Zhuan's report, Zhang Juzheng's heart twitched, and his palms were covered in cold sweat.As soon as Wang Zhuan's voice fell, he immediately asked: "What's going on at the storage warehouse?" Wang Zhuan replied: "The humble staff saw that the situation was not right, so they ordered the door to be closed, the payment was suspended, and the guards were increased. Soldier."

"Who are the military officers making trouble?" "Everyone present is making a fuss, and there are more than a dozen of them dancing fiercely." "That Zhang Dalang who took the lead, have you been caught?"  "This..." Wang Zhuan hesitated to speak.Zhang Juzheng stared at him, and asked sharply: "What's wrong?" "This Zhang Dalang is a person with a background. His uncle is Qiu Deyong, the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace." "Oh, so there is this layer." A spark flashed in Zhang Juzheng's eyes.A face that was always smiling quickly appeared in his mind, which was Qiu Deyong.He usually never speaks much, but he is very measured in doing things, so he is very appreciated by Queen Mother Li.Zhang Juzheng didn't expect that Zhang Dalang was actually his nephew, and immediately felt that this matter was difficult.If Zhang Dalang is arrested, Qiu Deyong will definitely be offended.If you don't catch them, those military men who don't understand the matter and only talk about their tendons will still provoke troubles.Zhang Juzheng was suddenly caught in a dilemma, and he didn't speak for a long time. Wang Zhuan, who was good at observing faces, looked outside the door at this time, and said in a low voice: "Shoufu, from the perspective of my humble position, I might as well let this Zhang Dalang go and give Qiu De a favor." Blame!" Zhang Juzheng's face was ashen, and he slapped the table and cursed, "You said this? Big right and wrong, how can you use it as a deal!" Zhang Juzheng glanced at him and asked, "Where is Zhang Dalang now?" Si Yamen, you won’t come out.” “This hard-headed nail must be pulled out.” Zhang Juzheng bit his cheek and said, “You go now, and Zhang Dalang must be arrested and brought to justice.” It's refreshing, but you just don't move your body. "Go!" Zhang Juzheng urged. 

Wang Zhuan looked at Zhang Juzheng's face, and replied cautiously:  "Shoufu, Beizhen Fusi is the yamen of Jinyiwei, and Jinyiwei is directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor. Without an imperial decree, the humble city patrol censor has no right to go in and arrest people." Wang Zhuan was telling the truth.After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng made an impatient gesture, and said resolutely: "It's not something that can be done in three or two hours to ask for an order from the emperor. Besides, you also said that there is another Qiu Deyong in the middle, please don't let me go." It is still a question of whether to use the imperial decree. What I mean is to be the first. As long as Zhang Dalang is caught, how to deal with it, the initiative is in our hands, don't you understand this truth?" Wang Zhuan, a monkey spirit, He could hear that Zhang Juzheng was speaking to him from his confidant, and quickly replied: "After the advice from the chief assistant, I understand. I will send someone to Beizhen Fusi to wait for him. As soon as Zhang Dalang shows up, I will immediately call He caught it." "What if he doesn't come out?" "We'll just wait." "I can't wait. After today, the day lily is cold. You have to try to trick him out." "Cheat?" Wang Zhuan rolled his eyes, understanding the "mystery" in Shoufu's words, and said with a smile, "Please don't worry, Chief Assistant, I will definitely handle this matter well." As soon as Wang Zhuan left, it was already noon, and Zhang Juzheng ate something indiscriminately.According to habit, he must take a nap after lunch, but today he couldn't fall asleep anyway.The occurrence of the food storage warehouse incident disturbed his mind and mixed his thoughts.It has been more than a month since I took office, and I have less worries and more worries.It's nothing to do with financial difficulties alone, but mainly personnel entanglements.He vaguely felt that there was always a force in the dark competing with him.Although Gao Gong left, most of the officials he promoted over the years are still holding important positions in major yamen.These people obviously didn't say anything, they nodded and bowed when they met each other, as if everything was peaceful.In fact, these people use "soft grinding" instead of "hard resistance".As a result, all yamen are in a semi-paralyzed state.Although most of the six most important ministries in the government have changed their officials, the officials with heavy burdens refused to cooperate. Not only did the situation not improve, but it was even worse than when Gao Gong was in power.In recent days, Zhang Juzheng felt strongly that although he had obtained the position of chief assistant, he had not actually obtained the right of chief assistant.Where there is advocacy and little response, a minister of the country is actually performing a "one-man show" that he sings and sings himself.This morning, he solemnly proposed Jingcha to the emperor, originally in order to restore the situation that everyone responded to when Gao Gong was in power. However, there was an unexpected situation, and the Jingcha had not yet started, but a major incident occurred in the red pepper and sapwood. Not only did the fighting take place, but also human life... Zhang Juzheng thought carefully and repeatedly, and felt that it was not accidental for the military officers to make trouble. No one is allowed to instigate behind the scenes.Some people just want to take advantage of the troubled waters and make things bigger.If the situation cannot be brought under control in time and the officials' dissatisfaction is allowed to spread, all the spearheads will eventually be aimed at him, the new Chief Assistant.If everyone talks about gold, gold will be sold, and if everyone pushes against the wall, it will fall.Zhang Juzheng realized this and immediately shuddered.For a moment, he even doubted whether it was appropriate to support Wang Guoguang's decision to discount the pepper and sumac salary.But soon this idea was extinguished, taking regret medicine is not in line with his personality, not to mention that the treasury is empty and there is no other choice.After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Juzheng's eyes shot out that threatening sharpness again. He pinched his nose with his hand to raise his mind for a while, and then called out majestically outside the door: "Come here." "The humble job is here. " The book office entered in response.Zhang Juzheng glanced at him, and said: "The two ministers from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment will meet in the cabinet."