Domineering Daming

"Yes." Fu Changzong and Zhou Yingqiu responded, followed Zhu Xu and walked outside.

Bi Ziyan, Sun Chengzong and others looked at each other. Today's events are a bit weird no matter how you look at them.

Fang Kongxuan, Li Banghua and others frowned, feeling extremely stressed.The so-called "divergence" comes from them.In their view, the reform strategy drafted by the cabinet has many problems, and they are fighting for it.

But judging from the emperor's indifferent attitude, most of them are still on the side of the cabinet, and all the pressure will be on them, the big officials in the frontier.

Thinking in his heart, Bi Ziyan looked at Sun Chengzong, looked at Li Banghua and the others, and said, "My lords, there is no need to worry. Let's discuss it again. There are still some days left for the big discussion. We will try our best to bridge our differences and be tolerant. Then I invite the emperor to make a judgment."

Li Banghua and the others nodded slightly, bowed and signaled: "Your Majesty obeys."

Zhu Xu took Fu Changzong and Zhou Yingqiu back to the Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, sat down on the rug, looked at the two of them and said with a smile: "Let's all sit down, and tell me, do you have different feelings in this place?"

The two thanked each other and sat down. Fu Changzong looked at Zhu Xu, pondered for a while, and said, "Your Majesty, the local affairs are indeed very complicated. Some of the minister's previous thoughts and some government affairs of the court may need to be adjusted according to the current situation."

Zhu Xu lay on his back and said, "Speak."

Fu Changzong looked cautious, leaned forward and said: "I waited in the cabinet, and after a brief discussion with the governors of various places, I found that the number of acres submitted by each place was less than [-] mu, and according to my estimate when I was in Beijing, there were at least [-] acres. Mu, and this does not include Liaodong and some wastelands where fleeing from famine, floods, etc.”

Zhu Xu looked as usual, and said: "How many acres do you think I have in Daming? It doesn't matter, let me tell you what I think in my heart."

Fu Changzong glanced at Zhu Xu, was silent for a moment, and said, "I think it exceeds 12 mu."

Zhu Xu nodded slightly, his heart turned slightly, he looked at him and said, "I didn't just talk about measuring the acres of the field now, nor once or twice. What do you think is a good way?"

Fu Changzong paused, and said: "Returning to the emperor, the ministers, the cabinet, and the governors have discussed it. In the localities, especially in counties and towns, the influence of the imperial court is quite weak. If you want to go deep to measure the acres of land, even if the cabinet puts down everything If you do it, you can’t expect it to be effective within three to five years. The ministers still hope to concentrate on promoting the ‘New Deal’. Once the ‘New Deal’ is completed, the imperial court’s control over the local area will be greatly strengthened. Measuring the acres of land and re-registering household registration will be more effective. , logically..."

Zhu Xu sat up, looked at Fu Changzong and said, "It means that half of it is gone. To promote the 'New Deal', well, this is the top priority."

Hearing what Zhu Xu said, Fu Changzong raised his head and glanced at him with a strange look in his eyes.Today's emperor is a bit strange.

Zhu Xu ignored him, looked at Zhou Yingqiu, and said with a smile, "Zhou Aiqing, tell me about your experience."

Zhou Yingqiu was different from Fu Changzong, sitting upright, with a stiff face, and said calmly when he heard the words: "Back to the emperor, I also made a lot of investigations in Liaodong, and I was deeply touched. One of them is: the hearts of the people are tired. No matter where you migrated from Coming here, the common people are extremely tired, and they are not high-spirited and excited. The savings of the common people are almost nothing. If it is not for the imperial government's relief, most of them will not be able to survive. The situation among the people is probably far beyond what the imperial court thinks..."

"The hearts and minds of the people are exhausted..."

Zhu Xu looked at Zhou Yingqiu, nodded and said: "This word is well used, and it is also very ironic. The adults in the court are full of passion, and this memorial book can't wait for twenty copies a day, but the situation in the world has not changed at all. On the contrary, they are all clear. Reputation and reputation have won the world's reputation!"

Zhou Yingqiu didn't talk to him, and the situation of the court is not a day or two.

Zhu Xu thought for a moment, and then said: "You think you want the people's hearts to recover, what should you do?"

Zhou Yingqiu obviously came prepared and said: "I believe that the 'New Deal' is one method, and the other is to start from the two directions of 'money and food' and hope."

"Continue." Zhu Xu narrowed his eyes and said.

Zhou Yingqiu leaned forward again, and said: "I believe that money and food are the foundation of the people's survival, and they can't be lost. Only with hope can the people feel inspired, have strength, have morale, be loyal to my Ming Dynasty, and work hard for 'the world has no poor man'." forward……"

Zhu Xu took a cup of tea from Cao Huachun's hand, and said, "You're right. It boils down to two aspects, one is material and the other is spiritual. It's easy to say about material, it's nothing more than money and food, and the other is spiritual. I have been asking the fourth and fifth halls to repair books. This "Underworld No Poor Man" is the goal that I, the imperial court, civil and military officials, and all people in the world strive for together. For this goal, we must do our best, and every bit of progress will make the world Everyone can see that only in this way can we have the motivation to support and move forward unremittingly. I will let the Fourth and Fifth Halls carefully consider the specific methods and methods.

Fu Changzong and Zhou Yingqiu were both taken aback for a moment, feeling that Zhu Xu's incisive summary could not help secretly admiring it.

Zhu Xu took a sip of tea, put it down again, and said: "I know what you said, why do adults outside Beijing disagree with the cabinet?"

Fu Changzong and Zhou Yingqiu looked at each other, and Fu Changzong looked at Zhu Xu and said, "Your Majesty, you governors think that the cabinet's 'New Deal' plan is pushed too eagerly, which will backfire. It has just passed a year, and many things have not been perfected. Think carefully, keep a low profile, and take time to figure it out. The cabinet ministers believe that natural disasters are overwhelming, and the treasury has huge expenditures. It is necessary to accelerate the implementation of the "New Deal". Among them, Governor Fang of Nanzhili, Governor Li of Shaanxi, Governor Xu of Fujian, etc. That’s what it means, Mr. Bige’s attitude is rather tough..."

Zhu Xu leaned on the table, bent his fingers, and tapped slowly, his eyes revealing his thoughts.

What the local officials in the frontier said is correct. The "New Deal" has just passed a year, and many things are still very rough, and they need to be refined and deepened.Whether they are limited to a province or what they say from experience, they are all correct and tenable.

Zhu Xu understood the cabinet's thinking better. Now that everyone is aware of the difficulties Daming is facing, the cabinet's urgency can be said to be a last resort. Such a big disaster will destroy the country. How can they not be in a hurry!

Zhu Xu is in full control of the cabinet's plan. Bi Ziyan and others have formulated a "four-year strategy" with the six ministries, which lists in detail the goals that need to be completed each year, including clarifying the tax burden, Field acres, household registration, etc., these are very difficult things, not to mention so many in one go, even if one of them is one, Daming will work together, and it will not be successful in ten or eight years!

Although the cabinet was too eager, Zhu Xu was not in a hurry or worried. The cabinet plan was one thing, and he had the final say on the specific speed and risks.

Listening to Zhou Yingqiu and Fu Changzong's words, Zhu Xu had a deeper understanding of outside the capital.

This Ming Dynasty has indeed entered its twilight years in history, natural disasters and human grievances, people's hearts are exhausted, national strength is deteriorating, and the local government does not even have the ability to "self-protect".Especially in Shaanxi and other places, dozens of rioters can capture the county seat, and a county magistrate has been in arrears of salary all year round.Even if the imperial army came and wiped out the rebellious people, once the officials and soldiers left, the rebellious people rose again, and the local government was still powerless to stop them. As a result, the officials and soldiers came and went, and the rebellious people went back and forth endlessly, exhausting what little Ming Dynasty had left. vitality.

Zhu Xu thought about it for a while, then looked at the two of them calmly and said, "Well, do you have any other ideas, opinions?"

Fu Changzong looked at Zhu Xu, wondering if he had left for a month, or if the emperor in front of him had really changed, he thought about it in his heart, and said cautiously: "I don't have any for the time being, and the cabinet is still discussing many things. I hope that the cabinet will summarize it and submit it to the imperial court."

Zhou Yingqiu leaned forward, obviously meaning the same thing.

Zhu Xu nodded slightly, reached out and took out an account book from under the table, and handed it to Fu Changzong: "This is the account book handed to me by the Royal Bank, take a look."

Fu Changzong took it with doubts on his face, his expression changed slightly when he turned the first page, and as he slowly turned the page, his expression gradually became serious.

He handed it to Zhou Yingqiu before he finished flipping through it.

Zhou Yingqiu had a bad guess in his heart, so he took it, and after flipping through a few of them, his face was gloomy and his eyes were burning with anger.

This is the account book of the royal bank, the loan account book, and the borrowers are officials at all levels of the imperial court. From the capital to the localities, officials, big and small, have borrowed more than 1000 million taels of silver with yamen or other materials as guarantee!

Naturally, the royal bank does not have the ability to really seize the government's things, which has become a bad debt, and now it is up to the imperial court!

Chapter 960

Zhou Yingqiu looked gloomy, flipping through the account books.

The names on the list are familiar to him and unfamiliar, and most of them were selected by him as Minister of the Ministry of Officials. Although few of his cronies are involved in the case, he cannot shirk this responsibility!

Zhou Yingqiu looked at it, the last number of 320 million was extremely dazzling!

He closed the account book, stood up, bowed to plead guilty and said: "Your Majesty, these are ministers who do not know people well, and employ people badly, please punish them by the Emperor."

Zhu Xu looked at him, shook his head, and said, "I didn't show you this to ask for guilt. It's this matter that gave me some ideas. The current size of the Royal Bank, including banknotes, is nearly [-] million taels Silver, it’s still on the shelf, you say, can the Ministry of Households borrow it through normal lending methods, and then return it in the future tax revenue?”

Fu Changzong frowned, pondering, and looked at Zhu Xu without speaking.

This royal bank originally belonged to the imperial court, isn't this just left handed and right handed?What "normal borrowing" is needed?

Zhou Yingqiu's heart moved slightly, and he said: "Your Majesty, I think it is possible, not only the household department, but also local government offices, but in terms of guarantees, strict regulations need to be made. I suggest that you start from the governor level and gradually relax , Private lending is strictly prohibited!"

Zhu Xu leaned on the small table, murmured, and said: "Well, that's what I mean too. Now...it's not convenient for me to intervene in the cabinet. In this matter, Zhou Yingqiu, you are responsible for the aftermath. Talk to Mr. Bi Ge first, Make a detailed charter and come out. Then go to King Jing, I don’t care what these people borrow money for or what they mortgage, within one month, everyone will have to pay back the full amount, but anyone who delays will be dismissed first and then sentenced to prison!"

Seeing that Zhu Xu didn't mean to blame him, Zhou Yingqiu hurriedly said: "I obey the order!"

Zhu Xu smiled deeply, looked at Fu Changzong again, and said, "Uncle, you can talk to the other governors again, first try to bridge the differences as much as possible, and then deal with these things when I am free..."

Fu Changzong responded and stood opposite Zhu Xu, the long-lost familiar pressure reappeared.

Zhou Yingqiu also knew that His Majesty the Emperor in front of him must be planning something, but now there are a lot of things, and there is no time to pay attention to them. Once these things pass, I am afraid that there will be a storm in the cabinet.

"Your Majesty..." Cao Huachun quickly walked in from the outside, and when he saw Zhou Yingqiu, Fu Changzong and Fu Changzong paused.