prosperous age

"Back then, Taizu was wise and powerful, but he never thought that the imperial court's finances would be overwhelmed by the skyrocketing Lumi.

The Chen Qingchen of the Ministry of Finance carefully read it, and if the Lumi method of the Hongwu period is maintained, the Ministry of Accounting will not be short of money for His Majesty to buy gems and pearls, but..."

When Wei Guangde said this, he stopped talking.

"but what?"

Emperor Longqing asked.

"Your Majesty, I have seen the distribution of Lumi in various places this year. The amount is astonishing. If there is no such expenditure, the Ministry of Households will not be out of money."

Wei Guangde just reminded.

"But there is no way to do this. These are the rules left by our ancestors. The children of the clan will naturally be supported by the imperial court."

Emperor Longqing just said.

"That's right, the Taizu set the rules, so naturally you can't change them without permission, but Your Majesty can also punish the offending vassals according to the ancestor's precepts."

"How to punish?"

When Wei Guangde mentioned the punishment, Emperor Longqing asked immediately.

"Except the country."

Wei Guangde raised his head and looked directly at Emperor Longqing, and then said: "The imperial court lacks a prince. Although it is only ten thousand shilumi a year, the prince's son is the county king. After a long time, this expenditure is not small."

"I remember that I asked you for a plan to reform the clan. Have you already thought of it?"

Following their conversation, Emperor Longqing vaguely remembered that when he was still in the palace, he felt the harm of the clan system when chatting with Wei Guangde, so he asked Wei Guangde to make suggestions.

"I'm stupid, I haven't thought of a way to get the best of both worlds."

Wei Guangde lowered his head and said.

"Oh, this matter is not that easy to say. If it were simple, it would have been solved long ago."

Emperor Longqing sighed.

"Your Majesty, although this matter is difficult, it does not mean that we will do nothing.

Take this case of the King of Liao, for example. Since he committed a heinous crime, the court should deal with him decisively and banish him from the country. This way Huguang will save a lot of money in the future. "

Wei Guangde circled back and said.

"I know what you mean."

Emperor Longqing understood the meaning of Wei Guangde's words. The main reason why the imperial court was unable to make ends meet was that the royal family's Lumi expenditure continued to increase, which led to a decrease in supplies and silver from all over the capital.

Wei Guangde thought that by reducing the titles of the offending clans, he could somewhat alleviate some of Lumi's expenses. Although it was not much, according to what he meant, it was still a large number in the long run.

"You think I should cut down the Liao Fan."

Emperor Longqing seemed to be asking, but actually he already had the answer in his heart.

The clan has no faults and naturally cannot move, but if it makes a mistake, it must accept thunder and rain.

"The feudal clan should be cut."

Wei Guangde's answer this time was also very direct, saying the answer that Emperor Longqing wanted to say but never said.

With Wei Guangde rambling on so much, Emperor Longqing was not only determined to get rid of the Liao Fan, but also somewhat relieved his dissatisfaction with Ma Sen.

But when Wei Guangde resigned, Emperor Longqing suddenly stopped him again.

"You have to pay more attention to the affairs of the clan. If you think of a way, you can write a report and submit it to me directly. You don't need to pretend to be a supervisor."

"The minister obeys the order."

Wei Guangde hurriedly bowed.

"I know that you are also very busy in the cabinet, but this matter is very important. I remember that we discussed this matter when we were in Yuzhi.

Although it can still be delayed now, but in the end we have to figure out a way.

It is said that due to too much lumi, all places cannot afford the supply, and they often default on lumi to those estranged members of the clan, so that the life of the clan members cannot be guaranteed.

The local government is in arrears with Lumi, so it naturally no longer cares about the weddings and funerals of these people. What's worse, there are many people who are over thirty years old and have not been buried for ten years.

may have? "

Wei Guangde blinked. These things were mentioned in the court documents, but the civil servants would not report these things to the emperor. How did he know?
But soon, Wei Guangde thought of Jin Yiwei.

Only they would report this kind of thing. Emperor Longqing could hold his breath, or maybe he didn't care about these poor relatives at all.

In the current Ming Dynasty, only the nearby vassal kings and their descendants can still guarantee the supply of Lumi on time, but more members of the clan are living in dire straits. It can be said that the division between the rich and the poor in the clan has become serious.

Due to their status, these people were trapped by the ancestral precepts set by Zhu Yuanzhang and could not engage in the work of the four people, nor could they participate in the imperial examination and embark on an official career to make a living.

"No need to guess, I read the documents sent by the vassal palaces in the past ten years, as well as the punishment my father gave to some lawless children in the clan, so I guessed it myself."

"Ok?"

Hearing what Emperor Longqing said, Wei Guangde became even more suspicious. He didn't know what the emperor saw or what he thought.

“Some of them actually came up with the idea of ​​entering the high wall in order to eat.

Zhu Qinyi, a lieutenant of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, was confiscated by his father and sent to Fengyang because he talked about current affairs. In order to survive, his son actually imitated the same example. Into the high wall. "

Emperor Longqing said in a depressed mood, "You are the only person around me who has the most solutions, so I will leave this matter to you and come up with a way for me to solve this matter.

As long as it's not troublesome, I'll do it. Even if it's inappropriate, I won't blame you. "

When Wei Guangde heard this, he understood, it turned out that it was the news sent by the feudal prince's mansion to the capital, no wonder the emperor knew about it.

He nodded, bowed and replied: "I understand, I will try my best to find a way to solve this matter."

After Wei Guangde withdrew from the palace, he was still thinking about the clan on his way back to the cabinet.

Whether this matter is big or small, the main reason is that the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" set by Zhu Yuanzhang got in the way, otherwise there would be too many solutions, and it would have been dealt with properly long ago.

If you can really solve this problem by thinking of your own way, it will inevitably be contrary to the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun", and it will be very troublesome.

And in Qianqing Palace, after Wei Guangde said goodbye, Emperor Longqing summoned the servants who had been dispatched here and there, and inquired in detail about the whole process of meeting Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin after he and Wei Guangde left the cabinet. Someone talked about today's audience, just a few words of greeting.

After calling the young chamberlain out, Emperor Longqing continued to sit on the throne, lost in thought. Even though Meng Chong said he was going to have fun in the back, he did not let the emperor leave the palace.

There is no doubt that with the support of Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde, Emperor Longqing was determined to eliminate the vassal.

It is not enough to remove the feudal clan without reason, but of course it is fine if you are guilty.

"Meng Chong, pass the decree to the cabinet, Liao Wang Xianzhen is guilty, he will be reduced to a commoner, imprisoned by a high wall, and the country will be expelled."

In the quiet palace, Emperor Longqing's oral order came out, and Meng Chong hurriedly walked a few steps and knelt down to accept the imperial order.

"The constitutional law intends to be sexual abuse, many crimes, violates the precepts of the ancestors, and commits many crimes. The officials have verified and participated in the performance. The law should be done. The Guge Jue is imprisoned, the world title is removed, and the son-in-law Wu Jinghe is sent to the Taimiao. The patriarch's house wrote a letter Let all the princes know about it, and ask all the parties to ask the censors."

"According to the order."

After Meng Chong listened to Emperor Longqing's oral decree, he hurriedly fell to the ground and shouted loudly.

"Go to the cabinet to convey my will."

After giving the decree, Meng Chong stood up and left the palace, trotting towards the cabinet.

Emperor Longqing leaned softly on the throne. Except for one country, there will no longer be a Liao king in the Ming Dynasty, and there will be no more Liao kings.

Emperor Longqing didn't know what kind of discussion this decree would have if it reached other clan mansions, but he couldn't care less.

He was well aware of the financial difficulties of the Ming Dynasty when he was in hiding.

Although removing the domain will not have much effect on improving finances, it will still be beneficial in the long run.

In fact, although the princes of the Ming Dynasty are nominally rich in ten thousand stones, in reality most of them take the initiative to ask for reductions. Many people only get half of their salary, that is, five thousand stones, and some take even less, but this is usually punished after making a mistake. salary.

It's just that there are too many Lumi leaders in the clan, and even after the color is folded, it will be a big expense.

Meng Chong quickly arrived at the cabinet with the emperor's decree, and went straight to Li Chunfang to check the house.

When he arrived at the door, he walked straight into the chief assistant's office without waiting for the Zhongshu Tongchuan. Although this place seemed sacred to civil servants, Meng Chong was not an ordinary person, he was a close minister of the emperor.

Even if they were cabinet ministers, they would respectfully call out "Eunuch Meng" when they saw him outside, so in his heart, he didn't take Li Chunfang seriously at all.

However, I was stunned when I entered the room. I couldn't help but see Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde in the room.

The three of them were also surprised that someone entered the house without communication, and they all looked over at this moment.

When several people were in a daze, Wei Guangde reacted quickly, stood up and laughed immediately: "Hey, this is not Eunuch Meng, I don't know what wind has brought you here."

"Mr. Li Ge, Mr. Chen Ge, and Mr. Wei Ge, all three of you are here. Haha, the Za family are here to deliver the message."

After Wei Guangde spoke, Meng Chong came back to his senses, thinking that he was afraid of what they would do, so he also put on a smiling face and replied.

When they heard that Meng Chong came to deliver the order, the three of them looked at each other and understood.

Sure enough, as Meng Chong read out the emperor's will, the three of them became convinced.

"Yifu, it's up to you to draft the will."

After Meng Chong expressed his intentions, Li Chunfang immediately gave orders.

"it is good."

Chen Yiqin promised that the edict of expelling the country should naturally be treated with caution. Even if he drafted it, several members of the cabinet would have to read it before handing it over to the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

After conveying the decree, Meng Chong only exchanged a few pleasantries before saying goodbye and going back to the palace.

After he left, Chen Yiqin said with a smile: "Sure enough, as the chief assistant said, His Majesty made the decree so soon."

"Hehe, His Majesty should have the same idea, but he is a little hesitant, so I need to wait for him to make up his mind."

Li Chunfang smiled, and then said sternly: "It seems that your Majesty may not have taken this matter to heart, otherwise, according to Shandai's previous answer, your Majesty should still be angry with the Ministry of Accounts. It’s not so quick to issue an order.”

"However, the imperial court's finances are still a big problem."

Chen Yiqin answered, "Today I received a memorial from Prime Minister Pang Shangpeng, the censor of Yantundu in Jiangbei, who wanted to package and dispose of the remaining salt, but I proposed to refute it. I just wanted to subsidize the household department with this batch of surplus salt. When needed, the money is collected and salt is issued. If you pass through the Yanzheng Yamen, you don't know how much you will be detained.

I originally said that I would tell the Chief Assistant later, but by chance, I did so at the same time. "

"There are not many inputs from the salt tax, banknote customs, and the Ministry of Revenue that can directly collect money."

Li Chunfang nodded and said.

"The money from Chaoguan is currently used by the Ministry of Revenue to distribute salaries to officials in the capital, and is generally not used for other purposes."

Chen Yiqin said, "Seeing that the end of the year is approaching, I don't dare to make any moves."

Following the announcement of Liao King Zhu Xian's decree to be deposed and imprisoned by the high wall, the courtiers who were still crowded in the General Administration Department suddenly dispersed.

There was no need to hand over the memorials in his hand, even the half-copied memorials of the clerks in the political department were asked to return, and the Beijing officials left directly.

In the next few days, the imperial court returned to its normal state, with each government office reporting the matter step by step and handling the matter on its own when necessary. The situation in the imperial court was calm for a while.

It's just that Ma Sen may have felt that he had repeatedly refuted the emperor's face, and was afraid of future troubles. He claimed that his mother was sick and begged to return home. However, this memorial was sent to the palace and was regarded by Emperor Longqing as a minister. The prime minister and the country's national economy were at stake. How could he read it? My mother's love affairs have been withdrawn many times, so I should serve as a servant as soon as she recovers, and I am not allowed to resign.

For the current Emperor Longqing, even if he had some dissatisfaction with Ma Sen, he would never let Ma Sen leave until he found an official who was better at managing money.

However, when Chen Yiqin, Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde were summoned by Emperor Longqing at different times, they asked if there were any people who were good at managing money.

Wei Guangde naturally did not know whether Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng had been asked this question, which meant that the three of them sometimes communicated with each other and maintained information sharing.

As the decree to punish the King of Liao was issued, King Lu, who was close to the capital, was the first to receive the documents from the Zongren Mansion, and their reaction was somewhat beyond the expectations of Wei Guangde and others.

In the view of Li Chunfang and other cabinet ministers, the emperor punished the Liao king for breaking the law, and when the news spread to the palaces all over the country, his prince should beat the clan members, at least avoid the limelight, and stop committing crimes for the time being.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yiyuan, King of Lu, and Zhu Zaicheng, King of De, each wrote a memorial to Lumi, requesting that the original five thousand shi of Lumi be changed to King Lu's two thousand shi and King De's [-] shi.

Because of Wei Guangde's words, the worried Emperor Longqing was overjoyed when he saw the memorial, and he immediately approved their request and sent someone to reward them.

As King Lu and King De took the lead, other princes followed suit and asked to resign part of Lumi.

In fact, a few thousand shi more and a few thousand less grain every year is really nothing to princes like them. The main income of those princes is actually from farmland and local business taxes.

Many clans use the Taxation Department and Hebo Office bestowed by the emperor to collect commercial taxes in the local area. Of course, they would not be able to collect much according to the court's laws, but now that they have been given to them, they will naturally not let the money slip away in vain. .

But at this time, Wei Guangde was also meeting Qi Jiguang, who had just returned to Beijing, in his mansion.

After Qi Jiguang received the right to train troops in Jizhou, Changping and Baoding from the Prime Minister, he hurriedly traveled to various places. It was called to supervise the training of troops. In fact, he was selecting the best, forming separate armies, and then arranging routes and ordering them to go to the capital camp immediately.

It was just this short glimpse. After returning to the capital, Qi Jiguang knew that Tan Lun had gone out to patrol the border, so he had no choice but to find Wei Guangde directly.

After meeting and saluting, Qi Jiguang flattered him a lot, so he gave Wei Guangde the first draft of the memorial written by himself, and asked him to help him correct it.

"Report to Chen Bianwu?"

Hearing Qi Jiguang's words, Wei Guangde just frowned, and then opened it to read.

"You just found so many problems just in a hurry?"

After quickly reading the first draft of the document, Wei Guangde frowned even deeper. (End of chapter)