The Red Mansions

Chapter 1000 Emperor Chongping: This is what Ping Luce said, how could I not know?

Chapter 1000 Emperor Chongping: This is what Ping Luce said, how could I not know?

Daming Palace, Inner Study Room

Emperor Chongping looked at the young man opposite him, with warm and friendly eyes, and said, "I heard from Dai Quan that you went to the Metropolitan Procuratorate?"

Jia Heng said: "Yesterday, the sage ordered me to go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to help investigate the case. I went to have a look, but I didn't want Mr. Xu to report illness."

Emperor Chongping smiled, and said: "I sent someone to deliver a message to him last night to let Yu De's son Yu Zhen be released. This morning, his memorial to complain about his illness was handed over to my desk."

When Jia Heng heard this, his heart moved slightly, and he looked at the middle-aged emperor calmly, and said: "My lord, what you did last night must have a deep meaning."

Emperor Chongping glanced at Jia Heng, and did not continue to mention the matter, but said, "Look at this."

As he spoke, he took a memorial from the desk and handed it over.

It was not the memorandum of apology submitted by Han Huang, but the memorandum submitted by Gao Zhongping, the governor of Liangjiang, who wanted to try a whipping method in the land of Liangjiang, clear up the acres of land, strictly check the entrusted land, and require local officials and gentry to make up for the owed taxes.

At this time, the officials and gentry, that is, above the Juren class, had the privilege of tax exemption, tax and servants, and many ordinary people mostly dedicated themselves to their subordinates.

After Jia Heng finished reading the memorial, his eyes flashed with thought.

It has to be said that this Gao Zhongping does have lofty political ideals, one whip method, all the methods to be tested are arranged, first try the two rivers, and then the two rivers are successful, that is, to promote the whole country.

Obviously it was not enough to give him the governor of Liangjiang. At that time, he would return to Beijing with honor and become the chief assistant of the cabinet.

Jia Heng's face was changed, and he reminded: "Your Majesty, don't rush into reforms."

"I know that we should not act too hastily, but this opportunity is extremely rare. It coincides with the great victory in the North and the political situation in North Korea and China is stable, and we can try out innovative strategies. Of course, I also want to hear your opinion." Emperor Chongping looked at him with burning eyes. That boy said in a clear voice.

When the young man in front of him was governing Henan, he used thunder to calm down the tyrants in the Central Plains and cut off the lawless gentry. He is still known as a cruel official in the Central Plains.

Jia Heng heard that he knew that Emperor Chongping had already moved his mind on the reform.

This is a series of victories against captives that gave Emperor Chongping confidence in his path, and although Gao Zhongping had been away from the center for many years, it was also affecting the emperor's way of governing.

In fact, even at the meeting between the monarch and his ministers, he once mentioned the strategy of innovation with the power of military victory. Now it is not that he has changed his course, but from his rhythm, he does not want to fight with the civil servants and bureaucracy so early. run into.

Because he hasn't thrived to that point yet.

Of course, if he is standing in the perspective of the emperor, or he is using the script of the emperor, and he just won a big victory with the captive chieftain, when will he not take the opportunity to change his ways and try to become stronger?

In this way, there is nothing wrong with moving Jiangnan now, just let Gao Zhongping charge forward.

Jia Hengdao: "Wei Chen thinks that it is feasible to try out the New Deal temporarily in Jiangsu Province, and Wei Chen also has some suggestions to improve the whipping method, such as sharing the property into the mu, and returning the fire consumption to the public. And abolish the two reforms."

If a whip method does not cooperate with the fire consumption to return to the public, the cost of expropriating the color silver will still be passed on to the people.

It is worth mentioning that the One Whip Law combines land tax and corvee into one collection, excluding the Ding Tax (poll tax).

In the feudal era, the main source of tax revenue for the imperial court was land tax, but whether the official government welcomed and dispatched people, built bridges and paved roads, or even worked on rivers and water conservancy, the common people were required to serve in corvée.

In addition, there are other miscellaneous taxes and levies. Now one of the whipping methods is the combination of taxes and services, and the other small taxes, that is, poll taxes, are called social maintenance fees in later generations.

Interestingly, most of the Ding tax in the Ming Dynasty was embezzled by officials, and it was also not paid into the national treasury.

In any case, in one sentence, the property tax is levied according to the number of acres. Landlords with more acres have to pay more taxes, and then the government hires servants to do some work on bridges and roads, which eases class conflicts to some extent. narrowing the gap between rich and poor.

Taxation itself is an effective means for the state machine to mediate the gap between the rich and the poor, and it cannot always rob the poor and give to the rich.

But the difficulty in tax collection is to let the children of officials and gentry collect their own taxes.

"Oh?" Emperor Chongping heard the words, he saw doubts in his eyes, and said, "The stalls go to the mu, and the fire consumption goes to the public. What does this mean? And why is it only in Jiangsu Province?"

Sure enough, Ziyu also has an innovative strategy. When I first came to the inner study, I talked with him about the political gains and losses of the previous dynasty, and the words of reform and innovation seemed to be still in my ears.

Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty, let me first talk about the province of Jiangsu. Jiangnan has a vast territory. It was just separated from Anhui. The scholars in Jiangnan are looking forward and looking back, hesitating and hesitating. Among the two provinces, Jiangsu is the most prosperous. The imperial court wants to implement new policies. You can choose a province in Jiangsu to try it out first, and if the results are remarkable, then slowly extend it to several southern provinces, and you don’t have to worry about lack of energy, and the officials will obey you in the dark.”

A whip method to clear up the acres of land can expand the tax base, and this method has the possibility of success in parallel time and space history, which shows that Gao Zhongping can probably do it. If he really returns with a reputation and enters the cabinet, he also needs to consider the impact on the government. Impact.

In other words, he needs to intervene to slow down the speed at which Emperor Chongping's favorite minister Gao Zhongping successfully entered the center and dominated the world, and then increase the difficulty of success at the right time to highlight his own role.

There is no way, at this level, it is impossible not to fight for power and profit.

Now the emperor obeys him, but what about after Gao Zhongping enters Beijing?

Emperor Chongping said: "I didn't intend to go to war at first, it's just that since the two rivers should be integrated, the effect should be more significant."

Jia Heng pondered for a while, and said: "I think that the boat is small enough to turn around. If there is a disturbance in Jiangsu Province, the center can deal with it in time, and Thunder will deal with it."

When Emperor Chongping heard the words, his eyes flickered, and he said, "Ziyu thinks that if it is implemented, it will cause chaos?"

Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty, I am worried that Jiangnan is a land of wealth and wealth. If the new policy goes wrong, it will affect the stability of the country. If the Holy Majesty thinks that Jiangsu is a small province, you can impose a whip on the tax and tax service in Henan Province. The Central Plains and Jiangsu can be described as one south and one north, and each chooses a province, which can also confirm the success or failure of each other, sum up the lessons, and gradually implement it to the south of the Yangtze River and even the whole country next year or the year after. "

At that time, whether it was Jiangsu or the Central Plains, once a disturbance arose, it could be suppressed with heavy troops.

On the contrary, if it is spread everywhere, and there are not enough capable ministers and officials to implement this policy, good things will easily turn into bad things.

Not long after the chaos in the Southern Economics of Henan, the results were determined to be higher than those in Jiangsu. At that time, the ugly behavior of Jiangsu gentry resisting the imperial government's national policy for their own self-interest was even more exposed.

Emperor Chongping thought about it for a while, but he also noticed some subtleties, nodded and said: "Ziyu's method is very good, one south and one north can also block the mouths of scholars in the south of the Yangtze River, but in Henan, the governor of Henan, Shi Ding, may implement it. ?”

Jia Heng said: "The central plains in Henan are in chaos, and there is a lot of waste waiting to be lifted. It is not as rich as Jiangnan. Previously, the suzerains and vassals were also suppressed, clearing up the fields and implementing a whip method, but the resistance was much smaller."

Emperor Chongping nodded, and asked: "Ziyu just mentioned that the stalls go into the mu, so what does it mean to return the fire to the public?"

Jia Heng said again: "Governor Gao's whipping method is nothing more than to save the floating fee in the collection, but we can't ignore the local servants and subordinates, who often use excuses to collect the folded silver, melt it, cast it and transport it to the furnace. Floating fees, moreover, tax silver is collected, the amount of silver is not much, and the price of grain hurts farmers. Once the imperial government implements policies, it needs to consider adapting to local conditions, and pay equal attention to physical objects and discounts. For example, a whip method that collects silver taels is not conducive to the country. To stockpile grain and fodder, to provide disaster relief and prepare for famine, in order to solve this disadvantage, the imperial court can firstly return the fire consumption to the public, and secondly, gradually abolish the two yuan and replace silver yuan with silver yuan, so that it can be convenient to accept the copper coins in the hands of the people, and then use the center to buy Grain and hay form a cycle of their own.”

The current currency system is mainly made of metal, and banknotes and banknotes are basically not used by ordinary people.

Emperor Chongping pondered and said: "It's a good one to return to the public! This method can prevent the government from apportioning land taxes to ordinary people, good!"

Jia Heng went on to say: "As for the distribution of the land to the mu, that is, the land tax will be fully deducted into the field. The abolition of the land tax in this way can save ordinary people's childbearing expenses, and it is also a virtuous government that the people want."

No poll tax is indeed a virtuous policy.

Emperor Chongping's eyes flickered, and he said: "This is a combination of land tax, corvee, and individual tax, and it will be collected in terms of acres. It needs to be cleared."

Facing the thoughtful eyes of the emperor, Jia Heng said softly: "Abolishing the two and changing the yuan means that I, a big man, can prepare to build a royal bank, and use silver coins to make money instead of silver. This royal bank is almost like Shanxi Shanxi merchant bank. , They issue silver bills on the credit of merchants. It is inconvenient for wealthy families to carry silver, so merchants often use silver bills. There are many benefits."

Emperor Chongping nodded and said, "The Ministry of Households also has ticket numbers, but it's limited to the capital, why not promote it all over the world?"

Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty, I think that the Royal Bank can set up branches in the north and south of the river, and set them up in various provinces, prefectures, and wealthy counties. With the prestige of the imperial court as the proof of the ticket number, merchants from all over the world will also deposit money into the bank. Of course, local merchants are not excluded from opening bank accounts, but they must be supervised by the Royal Bank and special officials for the payment of money. It is not appropriate to deal with this matter as a place to spend money and food."

At this time, there is no such thing as credit or endorsement.

But there is still a hidden danger in this matter, that is, the bank account may become a cash machine for bureaucrats, and if it is deposited in it, it cannot be withdrawn. but.

In the future, if Jinyang still has his children, he may be able to go to the bank...Three generations of finance, there will be endless shortage of children and grandchildren.

This is called Yugong Yishan, hammering a nail.

It really should be said that a good position is like AIDS, which can only be transmitted through mother to child, blood and sex.

Of course, before that, the establishment of bank accounts can be tried out in wealthy places like Jinling, Hangzhou, and Suzhou.

In short, through the reform of finance, he realized his control over the lifeline of the Dahan economy, gradually bypassed the Ministry of Households, and realized the self-contained system of finance and military.

For a moment, Emperor Chongping felt that the establishment of the bank account might erode the authority of the household department, but he was a little hesitant. He looked up at Jia Heng and asked, "Is Ziyu the way of currency breeding?"

Jia Hengdao: "I read more miscellaneous books. Guan Zhong of the Qi State used the technique of commodity breeding to make the Qi State richer than other countries. Although I am not talented, I only hope that I will be exhausted and dull, so that my sage can find out the way to enrich the country and strengthen the army. "

Emperor Chongping sized up the young man, said to Wang Zuozhi secretly, and asked, "Continue to talk about silver coins, I think there seems to be a lot of knowledge in it."

Jia Hengdao: "The Royal Silver Bank and the Silver Mining Bureau of the Ministry of Households cast silver dollars, which travel north and south instead of silver, thinking that paying taxes, giving salaries, and purchasing bulky items is extravagant. People usually buy food and clothing as they used to make money, so convenient. You can also gradually use silver dollars."

Because silver is inconvenient to carry, it is not easy to convert it into transactions. For example, the conversion of silver with different colors is also different. It is better to melt and cast silver dollars by the court.

It's not that he wants to drag the big man with nearly a million people to accompany him back to the future life before time travel.

It is to reform the currency system to serve the taxation system of the whip method, to use gold, silver and copper as the three standards, to use money as daily necessities, to buy bulk commodities with silver dollars, and to promote business transactions with silver tickets. .

When Emperor Chongping heard the words, his eyes flickered under the two pine brows, and he asked, "Ziyu's intention is to issue a new Tongbao?"

Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty, copper coins are still usable. Instead, silver coins are used instead of silver taels to facilitate commerce and trade. Silver notes are used across the country. This is portable and saves transaction costs. Today, officials' salaries are mostly paid in rice. Banknotes are mixed with silver, and many officials dislike precious banknotes. Now they use silver notes, or precious banknotes can also accept a certain amount of silver from banks. After a long time, people will naturally regard silver banknotes as one."

Now that officials distribute salaries, they are also a mixture of rice, banknotes, and silver. Of course, the key is not to distribute precious banknotes indiscriminately, otherwise they will soon become waste paper that is too hard to wipe your ass.

Emperor Chongping also understood what he meant when he heard the words, that is, to take over the bank account industry of Shanxi merchants, and let the royal bank account take over, and said: "The movement of the currency system involves all aspects of the Ministry of Households. You, Qi Qing, and Lin Qing can come up with a charter." However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs can prepare to build a Royal Bank."

If silver coins can be used instead of silver taels to eliminate the adverse effects of a whip method, it would be a good strategy.

Jia Heng accepted the order and said yes, and said: "Your Majesty, I think that in the south of the Yangtze River, we must beware of some troubles caused by the powerful gentry."

Emperor Chongping said: "After your wedding, didn't you go to the south of the Yangtze River to lead the army to wipe out pirates, let's see how this matter is settled?"

He said, thought for a while, and said: "Gao Zhongping went to the meeting the day before yesterday and mentioned Jiangnan Daying. He wanted to take back part of the power of Jiangnan Daying as usual. I want to hear your opinion. Is it necessary?"

The emperor obviously also considered the turmoil that would be brewed by the reform and reform, and mentioned Jiangnan Daying just in case.

Jia Heng said: "The Jiangnan Camp has always been the commander of the Nanjing War Department, the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion, and the Jiangnan Day Camp. The three parties negotiated and jointly promoted the transfer. Of course, we must also inform the Shenjing Military Department. It is not wrong to transfer troops according to the previous routine. It's just that the Jiangnan Daying Navy is going south to suppress the Haiqing bandits, and the north to crusade against the Eastern captives, and I want to go to Denglai, Shandong, and Tianjin Wei to plan a strategy against the captives, and even plan to build a naval force. The Zhenhai Guard Navy Division of the Six Guards, do you want to think about it again?"

After he took over the Jiangnan camp, and the previous governor of Liangjiang, Shen Bing, was ineffective and no longer under the command of the Yamen of the governor of Liangjiang. Gao Zhongping had just arrived in Liangjiang, and he clearly wanted to take back his power.

In other words, the emperor will not hand over all the soldiers and horses to him.

And Gao Zhongping was also good at fighting in Sichuan, and made great military achievements.

Emperor Chongping said: "The navy is still used by the central government. It's nothing. Ziyu is preparing for the navy, but he wants to use the North Korean navy to attack Liaodong across the sea?"

"The holy lesson." Jia Heng said.

Emperor Chongping said with emotion: "This is what Ping Luce said, how could I not know?"

After making contributions from Pinglu Ce, it was indeed realized step by step according to the plan, which gave people a really different feeling.

Emperor Chongping thought for a while, then looked at Jia Heng, and asked: "I heard from Xianning that Gao Yong got drunk yesterday and caused trouble in a restaurant by the Qujiang Pool, and you escorted him to Jinyi Mansion? "

Jia Heng said: "Yesterday, Gao Yong was drunk and spoke disrespectfully to the Jinyi Mansion, and then fought violently. I was afraid that something would happen to Gao Yong after drinking, so I imprisoned him in the government office. Today I am talking about letting him go." People go back."

Emperor Chongping said: "Erlang of the Gao family is a bit reckless. These officials and eunuchs rely on their father's merits and honors. They don't know how to restrain themselves and cultivate themselves. They are respectful and humble. They do many illegal things. It is a good thing to teach them a little lesson in Jinyi Mansion."

As he said that, Emperor Chongping took advantage of the situation and said: "Yesterday, Mr. Han Ge entered the palace and mentioned that his son Han Hui was also involved in the imperial examination fraud case. I was quite surprised to hear that. After thinking about it, I sent someone to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to inform Xu. Qing, when you go back, I will come to the door on behalf of you to persuade Xu Qing."

It was only at this time that Emperor Chongping broke through the key points. After all, he said earlier that no matter who was involved in the matter, he would conduct a thorough investigation.

Jia Heng nodded, and said: "After I got home, I went to see Mr. Xu."

Immediately, he said with emotion: "This matter is indeed a bit unimaginable. I also had some friendship with Han Hui, the son of Han Ge, and I don't want to use this opportunistic method."

Emperor Chongping said in a deep voice: "Fang Huan leaked the question first. My intention is to let Han Hui take the exam again. If he fails to understand grammar, he will be dismissed immediately."

Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty is magnanimous, and I admire you."

The emperor can be regarded as confessing to him, that is, to use the matter of Han Hui to blackmail the two of Han and Zhao, and clear the way for the upcoming reform and new deal.

At least a tacit understanding can be reached at the central level, which means that Ke Dao may turn against Yingtian. As for local resistance, it is not a big problem if Gao Zhongping or he goes to take care of it later.

This is indeed a window period for reform and innovation.

Emperor Chongping said: "Then I will draw up the decree in a while, and first implement a whipping method in Jiangsu and Henan. You should also prepare for the wedding in the next few days."

Jia Heng said: "I thank you, Your Majesty."

Before the big wedding, there is only such a little thing. After the big wedding is over, you can take advantage of the trend and go south.

At this moment, Dai Quan entered the inner study and said, "Your Majesty, Master Li and Elder Qi Ge returned to Beijing and handed over the sign to ask to see Your Majesty."

Emperor Chongping's eyes flashed, and he said, "Xuan."

Dai Quan took the order and left.

Emperor Chongping looked at Jia Heng and said, "Li and Qi are here just in time, and you will meet with me. It's just in time for you to discuss the reform of the currency system with Qi Kun."

Jia Heng got up, cupped his hands and said: "I obey the order."

After this period of time passed, Li Zan finally returned to Beijing, and later he can take advantage of the situation to mention Shi Nai's departure from the town of Shandong Admiral.

(End of this chapter)