Chapter 58 The 31st Round of Reduction and Exemption of Tian Fu

The three things that Zhang Juzheng said, the first is the two hundred thousand taels of silver that Yin Zhengmao returned to the Ministry of Households.For Wang Guoguang, this was a windfall. Therefore, he thought about abolishing the measure of the pepper and sumac salary.When talking about this matter, Zhang Juzheng asked him not to expect to use the 200,000 taels of silver to solve the problem of pepper and sumac salaries, and to find another way to solve the official salary—the idea was still on Hao Yibiao.You Qi came back last night and reported to Hao Yibiao that he wanted to use the tank boat, and he thought of agreeing at that time, on the condition that Hao Yibiao must appear in silver to buy the hematoxylin pepper stored in the household department.After hearing this idea, Wang Guoguang felt uncomfortable when he thought that such a dignified chief assistant still had to worry about such trivial matters, and he muttered to himself: For the past two hundred years of the Guo Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng, who has been a chief assistant like him, might find someone There is no second person.

The second thing Zhang Juzheng said was the content of the meeting with Feng Bao that day in the West Room of the Wenhua Palace, about the expenses required for the emperor's first Sutra feast this autumn.Feng Bao asked the inner palace supervisor to make a shopping list that cost 150,000 taels of silver, and it would be delivered to the household department in a few days.Zhang Juzheng vented beforehand to let Wang Guoguang be mentally prepared.This money may not be needed - he is trying to mediate the matter, whether it can make Queen Mother Li let go of the money is not yet known, so it has to be prepared.When it came to the third matter, Zhang Juzheng thought it over for a while before slowly saying, "The last time Empress Dowager Li went to Zhaoning Temple to offer incense, she heard in the temple that there was a severe drought in her hometown, Sui County this year, and the farmers could not harvest food, so Feng Bao Bring me a letter, intending to reduce or exempt the county's taxes for one year. The servant recently sent people to Sui County to investigate. Although there is indeed some spring drought, the wheat harvest has not yet failed. Some prefectures in Shandong, Shanxi, Henan and other provinces However, this year it has been from spring drought to summer, and some fields have failed to harvest. If only Sui County is given tax relief, what will these state capitals do? If Lui County is not given tax relief, Queen Mother Li will definitely be unhappy. She told Eunuch Feng that she Since entering the palace, no matter whether it was the birth of the crown prince, or promotion to the imperial concubine, and now she has been promoted to the empress dowager, she has never sought any blessings for her hometown. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to make this request now. Ruguan, what do you say about this matter? How should it be done?"

After listening to the statement, Wang Guoguang felt uncomfortable.This Empress Dowager Li sometimes seems very open-minded, and sometimes a little arrogant and unreasonable.The Emperor's Sutra Banquet could have been kept simple, but she insisted on making a scene, she only thought of the Emperor's face, but completely ignored the difficulties of the Ministry of Household Affairs.Right now, he is jumping in a hurry to collect taxes, and she is thinking of honoring her ancestors as a favor.After thinking about it, an unknown fire came up, and the words that came out were hard and harsh:

"Nowadays, Empress Dowager Li keeps her promises, so why not just obey Yi's orders?" Zhang Juzheng was not in a hurry, and still asked with a smile: "This is simple, so how to deal with those state capitals that are really suffering from severe drought?" "Then it will be reduced together." "It's a kind act out of compassion for the peasants and the people," Zhang Juzheng replied, with an even more unpredictable expression, "If you only reduce or exempt taxes in Sui County, isn't it using temple artifacts to seek personal morality, which is contrary to the commonality of the world? If all the drought-affected state governments are exempted, it will be illegal. The country’s finances are so tight that there is no room for prodigal sons. Ru Guan, how do you choose a perfect strategy to solve this problem?”

Zhang Juzheng asked again and again, but Wang Guoguang was too embarrassed to be perfunctory, so he thought about it seriously and replied: "If the chief assistant handles this matter in an ingenious way, I'm afraid it will attract criticism again." "How can we be ingenious? At the time of the government's failure, we must be cautious in our actions, and government orders must follow the ancestral system, so as not to give others a handle. You see, you usually pay attention to the financial classics of the country, you say , what is the ancestral system to follow in this regard?"

Wang Guoguang thought for a while, and replied: "The new emperor ascends the throne, which can reduce and exempt the world's taxes to show the emperor's love for the people. In the previous dynasties, Yongle, Xuande, Jiajing and other emperors have done it. There's a story to follow." "This story is tantamount to the ancestral system." Zhang Juzheng obviously knew about these cases, and at this time he replied with confidence, "It was not determined by Hongwu that the salary of pepper and sapphire was paid off. But who dares to say that it is not the ancestral system? Once the cases of the previous dynasty were decided Putting it into practice, it will become a custom. Therefore, the meaning of the servant is to ask the Ministry of Households to draft a text to play to the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. On the occasion of the change of dynasty and the new master inheriting the great unification, the tax of the world will be reduced regularly, so as to show the emperor's love for the people. .”

"How about a subtraction?" Wang Guoguang asked. Zhang Juzheng pointed to the account book and said: "Before the first year of Longqing, the prefectures owed more than 3.4 million taels of silver. I think we can ask the imperial decree to waive it. Instructions, a limited time to collect and store in the treasury." As soon as Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Wang Guoguang immediately understood the truth: it is generally more difficult to collect the debts that have been accumulated for a long time.Even if the imperial court ordered it again and again, the prefectures and counties would try their best to shirk it.If we simply draw a line and waive the debts accumulated before a certain year, and step up collection after a certain year, the magistrate will no longer have excuses, and if effective measures are attached, the matter may be resolved satisfactorily.In this way, there are three effects: first, to settle the debts accumulated over the years; second, to please the emperor; third, to win the hearts of the people.When you think about it carefully, there is no better way than this.Wang Guoguang agreed very much in his heart, but said worriedly:

"This move is very good, but there is no separate relief for Sui County. Does Queen Mother Li have any ideas?" "I don't think so." Zhang Juzheng replied confidently, "The Empress Dowager is the sovereign of a country. She is the Empress Dowager of all the people in the world, not the Empress Dowager of the people of Lu County. " "Brother Uncle has such confidence, in the next few days, we will draw up the public report and report it to the emperor." At this point, Wang Guoguang pondered for a while, and then said, "Just now when we talked about urging the payment of taxes owed over the years, let me let you go." I think of one thing, and I ask the Chief Assistant to make a decision."

"What is it?" "Last time I said that the top ten tax customs in the country collected a total of more than 600,000 taels of commercial tax a year. At this time, we asked the Ministry of Finance to list the tax collection situation of the tax customs since the first year of Longqing for future reference, and found that there were many loopholes. Big. One is omission of revenue and less collection, and the other is local deductions, making false accounts to deceive the court. The crux of the problem is that these ten tax customs are all managed by the general judge of the state where they are located. Sitting under the buttocks are the interests of the state and the government, and they will not wholeheartedly protect the interests of the court. Just like this Yang Yongcheng, he dared to make decisions without making any declarations in advance and embezzled the tax money that should have been collected from the national treasury. Said In the end, because he is an official of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Household Affairs cannot control him. If we want to solve this maladministration and ensure the tax revenue of the court, we think the only way is to change the tax management system.”

Zhang Juzheng has been thinking about what Wang Guoguang said for a long time.This kind of ills in personnel management is not only reflected in the Ministry of Households, but also in other major yamen such as the Ministry of War and Industry.Those in charge can't manage people, and those who manage people don't care about things, which leads to the continuation of the government and the failure of laws and regulations.Some ministers in charge want to make a difference, but they are often restrained everywhere, and slander is everywhere without making their achievements.Zhang Juzheng had long wanted to reform, but he had no time to take care of it for a while.Now that Wang Guoguang has brought it up, he thinks it would be better to let the Ministry of Household Affairs take the lead in reforming first, so he asked:

"How do you think it should change?" Wang Guoguang replied: "It is no longer possible to let the local government collect it on its behalf. Instead, the Ministry of Households will directly appoint the taxation censors of the major tax customs." "This suggestion is very good. Since Brother Ru Guan has thought through it thoroughly, I see that it is not too late to deal with it. However, this system has been carried on since the founding of the country, and even though it is a mess, all the yamen are used to it. Once the changes are made, the local and state capitals will lose a piece of fat, and there will be strong opposition. Therefore, the difficulties here must be more thoughtful. In my opinion, the leaders of the top ten tax customs should not be too low-level. Otherwise, once you arrive at the place, those magistrates will still dominate the weak, and there will be more quarrels among the yamen. In short, you should think carefully. After you report to the emperor and get the decree, you will discuss it with the officials in detail. Once it is confirmed, it will be done. system." Zhang Juzheng's thinking was clear and detailed. Wang Guoguang was quite excited when he heard it, and then asked: "The candidates for the top ten tax bureaus will be selected by the Ministry of Households or the Ministry of Officials?" "Of course it is by the Ministry of Household Affairs," Zhang Juzheng replied decisively, "Since it is necessary to reform, it should be reformed thoroughly. The Ministry of Household Affairs selects officials, and the Ministry of Officials dispatches them to Guanfang. This is the way of thinking. You see, these ten You also have to carefully select candidates for officials, in my opinion, they should not only be good at finance, but also be able to stand alone and have the courage to do things." "The difficulty lies in the person." Wang Guoguang shook his head and sighed, "In this world, finding a real talent is really harder than reaching the sky." "It can't be so difficult," Zhang Juzheng said with a smile, "It is often said that there must be fragrant grass within ten steps; the ancients also said that a thousand-mile horse often exists but a bole does not often exist. This is the way to select materials. As long as we don't stick to one You can always find talents. I heard that there is a strange person in your household department." "Who?" Before Zhang Juzheng could answer, he suddenly heard a commotion in the originally silent courtyard, and occasionally heard sharp scolding.The book office on duty in the ear room ran out quickly after hearing the sound, and came back in a short while, reporting: "Lord Wang, someone is fighting in the front yard." "Who is so presumptuous?" "It's Guanzheng Jin Xuezeng, who got into a fight with officials from the Ministry of Rites." "What, is it Yang Yongcheng?" "No, it's another one." Wang Guoguang was about to explode, but he heard Zhang Juzheng say first: "This Jin Xuezeng is indeed a troublemaker." ''Shoufu knows Jin Xuezeng?" Wang Guoguang asked in amazement. "I don't know him, but I've heard of it. The weirdo I'm talking about is him." "As soon as we arrived at the room on duty in the morning, the secretary reported that Jin Xue had asked for an urgent matter. We thought he had something important to do as a moldy observer, so we blocked it. Unexpectedly, he would fight with other officials. It really doesn't make sense." "You sent a message to let him in, and Benfu wants to meet this person?" "This is easy." Wang Guoguang said and shouted: "Come on!" "The humble job is here." The secretary had been waiting at the door for a long time, but now he responded.Wang Guoguang glanced at him and said angrily: "Go, bring that Jin Xuezeng in." The secretary found Jin Xuezeng in the duty hall. He was being reprimanded by the minister Zuo Erlang. He heard that the minister had passed him on. " That ridiculous look of fooling around made Zuo Er laugh and neither scold nor scold, so he had to turn his face away and pretend to look at the rose trellis in the yard. In the household department, this Jin Xuezeng was originally an unknown person, but since the incident of the storage warehouse, he has become a celebrity.Some people praised him for his courage and dared to fight fiercely with Zhang Dalang, while others complained that he was meddlesome, saying that he should be indirectly responsible for Wang Song's death.But in any case, he couldn't do the job in the storage warehouse anymore, and he went back to the household department to sit on the bench.For several days, he stayed in the study room and had nothing to do, so he ran to the secretary's room to borrow some files and papers to read.But the price abacus beads in the room were crackling all day long, and the noise made him very upset, so he went to his boss and asked for a change of guard.The boss really couldn't find a place to arrange for this idler, so he had to be on duty in the duty hall, registering all the officials who came to the ministry every day for business and bringing them to the corresponding department.Although this errand was out of date, it finally had something to do.He took advantage of the time when the visiting officials were waiting for their meeting, and chatted with them in the duty hall, and learned a lot about the officials' feelings and public opinions. After midnight this morning, Jin Xue once approached the secretary on duty and asked him to report to the head of the department hall that he had something important to see, but he was rejected.He suddenly felt lost, sitting on the long bar in the duty hall, thinking about how to get into the duty room of the minister. During this period, the first assistant Zhang Juzheng arrived at the household department, but he plunged into the duty room of the master of the department hall, but he did not come out.Jin Xuezeng really wanted to break in and state the "important matter" to the two adults, so he went around the entrance of the hall a few times, but finally he didn't have the courage to break in, so he had to go back to the duty hall and put his cheeks on his hands to be lost in thought.Just as he was thinking about it, he couldn't figure it out. Suddenly, the gatekeeper led a person in, wearing a sixth-rank official uniform, with a carefree look.Jin Xuezeng got up and greeted him to take a seat, and then sat back to register for several cases. "Which yamen?" Jin Xuezeng asked. "Ministry of Rites." The visitor spoke in a loud tone. Jin Xuezeng didn't have a good impression of this visitor. When he heard that it was from the Ministry of Rites, he became even more angry, and the questioning immediately became a trial: "Your name?" The visitor handed over the name badge, Jin Xuezeng took it, and filled in the registration book while reading: "Ji Yougong, Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, ranks sixth. Judging by your air, you are more powerful than Lang Guan. What business do you have?" "Apply for silver." "Use silver?" Jin Xuezeng raised his eyes and glanced at Ji Yougong, how much is it?" "Five hundred taels." "use?" Ji Yougong felt that the registrar had exceeded his authority to inquire, so he asked again, "What is the use of the application amount, and what does it have to do with you?" Jin Xuezeng put down the pen in his hand, sneered, and replied: "Master Ji, listen to the words of the humble official, go back." "Back, why do you want to go back?" Ji Yougong asked. "The household department has changed its name." "The Ministry of Households changed its name? What name did it change?" Ji Yougong was taken aback. "Call Sorabe." "What's it called, Sora, Sorabe? What does it mean?" "Taicang is empty. There are only spider webs and rats in it. Do you want it? There are still a few templates for printing banknotes in Baoquan Bureau. Do you want it?" It was only then that Ji Yougong realized that Jin Xuezeng was teasing him, and his face turned black immediately, and he reprimanded sharply: "You are so unscrupulous, you dare to lie to this official. When I see you later, I must speak bluntly to Chen Shang. Let him discipline you severely." Jin Xuezeng smiled nonchalantly, and said, "Then please, who would Mr. Ji want to see?" "Master Du Zhisi." "It's useless to see him, you have to see Master Butang." "Why?" "Our household department has a new rule. All yamen who come to apply for more than 100 yuan in silver must be personally approved by the head of the department." "Then, I will pay homage to your Lord King." "Sit on the stool." "What do you want?" "It's not like that, Mr. Department Hall is busy, and I'll let the stewards apply for you later." Jin Xuezeng raised his legs and closed his eyes to regain his composure as he said. Ji Yougong just thought that he had bumped into a day ghost, and sat back on the board full of anger.Unexpectedly, this sitting went on for more than half an hour.Neither Jin Xuezeng went out to report nor anyone came in.What was even more irritating was that this 9th grade petty official with slanted brows and indifferent eyes actually leaned back on his chair and started snoring. He was so angry that he stepped forward and shoved hard, shouting: "Hey!" "What's the matter?" Jin Xuezeng opened his eyes, pretending to be asleep. "Why don't you send a message?" Jin Xuezeng replied: "Si Wu can't come out, I am a ninth-rank sesame official, how dare I go in and look for him." "Bah, little man!" Ji Yougong finally couldn't hold back anymore, and cursed hysterically.Jin Xuezeng just wanted to provoke him, so he put away his legs at this moment, stood up abruptly, twisted his two sparse inverted eyebrows, and cursed with a tooth for a tooth: "Look at your virtue. You have an elm head and club legs, eel eyes and a fox mouth. You can't tell from the top, bottom, left, and right sides. How dare you call my grandfather a villain!" Jin Xuezeng was born with a hurtful mouth, and he scolded Ji Yougong until his seven orifices smoked.This guy has always been arrogant in the etiquette department, and he is also a character who can beat people to death at the corner of his clothes.Being humiliated for no reason today, how can I bear this tone, I rushed up and dragged Jin Xuezeng by his collar, and dragged him around in a circle, shouting: "You scold, I tell you to scold!" Jin Xuezeng was smaller than Ji Yougong, so he was no opponent in a fight, but he didn't want to lose his ambition, so he had to protect his neck with one hand and scratch Ji Yougong's face with the other.The two hit each other in an inextricable fight.The sound of their fighting spread throughout several yards in front of and behind the household department, and hundreds of people rushed to the duty hall to watch at once.When they got up, several people pulled and dragged them apart, only to see that Ji Yougong's face had been scratched by Jin Xuezeng several times, and Jin Xuezeng's official robe had also been ripped open by Ji Yougong. Embarrassed.But both of them refused to admit defeat: even though they were held back, they were still yelling at each other.If it wasn't for Duzhi Silang officer coming to persuade Ji Yougong to rest in another room, I don't know what will happen to the fuss.