The first assistant of the poor family

Chapter 360 Confrontation with Chief Assistant

In the Ming Dynasty, the sea was banned, and what was banned was ordinary commerce.Foreign trade between countries was not prohibited.

On the contrary, Ming Dynasty also set up a special agency, the Ship Ship Department, to be responsible for maritime trade with various countries.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were three divisions of Shipbuilding Department.

One is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, the other is located in Ningbo, Zhejiang, and the third is located in Quanzhou, Fujian.

The Shibo Division in Guangdong is specially set up for the tribute of Siam, Champa, Manga, Chenla and other countries, and is the most important.The one in Zhejiang was specially set up for Japanese tribute, but it was abolished because of the Japanese pirate problem.The one in Fujian is specially designed for Ryukyu tribute. Although the Folangji people also want to go ashore here, they will not be allowed unless they are in the name of tribute.

The Shibo Division set up one person to be promoted, from the fifth rank.There are two vice-promoters, and they are the sixth rank.It is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Secretary, and the tax paid naturally flows into the Chief Secretary's office.

Before entering the palace to face the saint, Xie Shen went through the background information again in his mind to ensure that there would be no problems.

As a person who studied the history of the Ming Dynasty, these things have naturally been imprinted in his mind, but through repeated verification, these things can be made stronger.

The emperor summoned Xie Shen in the Qianqing Palace, so when the imperial censor Xie came to the inner court through the entire outer court, he was already sweating profusely.Fortunately, the official robe is scarlet, which is not obvious after dizziness.It would be embarrassing enough if it was light in color.

After Xie Shen was called into the palace, he was a little startled to find that there was a whole group of cabinet scholars there.

Is this the summoning of the cabinet meeting?
Xu Pu, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian are all famous people.

It has to be said that Hongzhi Zhongxing still has its reasons.With so many famous ministers and assistants, it is difficult not to make some political achievements.

Emperor Hongzhi had a sad face, and when he saw Xie Shen entering the palace, a gleam of joy appeared between his brows.

"Xie Qing, I declare that you are here to open the sea ban."

After Xie Shen kowtowed and performed the courtier's ceremony, he folded his hands and said: "I listen to the hadith respectfully."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded in satisfaction and said: "The matter of banning the sea has caused a lot of disagreements in the court. Various temples and temples debated endlessly on this matter. Some supported the opening of the sea, while others insisted that the sea must be banned. Even the university The scholars also have different opinions. Xie Qing, let me tell you why you advocate opening the sea."

After finishing speaking, Emperor Hongzhi paused deliberately, and set his eyes on Xu Pu, the chief assistant.

As the chief assistant handpicked by Emperor Hongzhi, Elder Xu Ge has been in the cabinet for five full years.

In the past five years, the cabinet has been united and shared a lot of worries for Emperor Hongzhi, which is very satisfying.

But it was this favorite minister of the emperor who spoke fiercely about the ban on opening the sea and opposed it. In addition, Liu Jian, the second assistant, also opposed it, which made Emperor Hongzhi hesitate.

Emperor Hongzhi himself also tended to open the sea.

However, he is a typical good old man, and he does not want to see the courtiers, especially the cabinet, split, so at such times he will often come out and fight until one side is persuaded.

This time he hoped to stand out and get along with Xie Shen, of course.

Xie Shen had a perfect grasp of the emperor's mind, and immediately replied, "My minister advocates the sea ban because firstly, it can increase the court's taxes, secondly, it can reduce smuggling, and thirdly, it can promote our Ming Dynasty's prestige."

He has already stated these three points in the memorial, but it has a different taste to say it in front of the emperor and the senior scholars.

He noticed that Xu Pu's complexion changed drastically when he said this, but it was difficult for the emperor to be next to him.

Emperor Hongzhi nodded and said, "I understand the last two things Xie Qing said. But how can lifting the sea ban increase taxes?"

In the impression of Emperor Hongzhi, the commercial tax levied by the imperial court on merchants was one tax per ten, which means that no matter how the tax rate was levied, it would remain the same.In addition, the number of tributes presented by Lishi Shipping Division was extremely limited on weekdays, which gave Emperor Hongzhi the impression that sea trade was not profitable.

Although Xie Shen stated in the memorial that opening the sea ban could greatly increase the court's taxes, Emperor Hongzhi was still skeptical about this.

"Your Majesty, maritime trade is different from general commerce. It is not necessary to follow the tax rate of ten taxes and one tax, but it can be ten taxes two or ten taxes three. This can depend on the specific situation. And most of the tributes presented by the Shibo Division are selected from the Fan Kingdom. Naturally, the quantity of gifts cannot be compared with ordinary sea trade."

Xie Shen paused, and continued: "As far as I know, Nanyang spices and Persian carpets are extremely valuable items. These foreign sea merchants can earn several times the profits by trafficking them to Ming Dynasty. I can make a lot of money by transporting my porcelain and silk from the Ming Dynasty back to China. Therefore, even ten taxes and three are not too high."

Xie Shen's remarks obviously moved Emperor Hongzhi.

The emperor's eyes turned slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "What does Xu Qing think?"

Xu Pu's face had already turned red, and he was finally relieved to hear the emperor asked him.

"I thought it was absolutely forbidden to open the sea."

Sure enough, Xu Pu jumped out and sang the opposite tune as expected.

He had already read the contents of Xie Shen's memorabilia several times in the residence newspaper, and finally found a breakthrough.

"Xie Yushi said that the opening of the sea ban can curb smuggling. Those maritime merchants who do business with the Fan Kingdom will instead conduct trade through the yamen under the imperial court. However, I think that once this opening is opened, it will be difficult to control. If this sea The bureaucrats of the Economic Bureau colluded with maritime merchants, filling their pockets and causing more harm than smuggling."

The corruption of ink has always been a persistent disease that has plagued Ming Dynasty.

Although Emperor Taizu's determination to fight corruption was very strong, the corruption situation has not been curbed.

If the maritime trade area is really opened, the Maritime Economic Bureau proposed by Xie Shen will bear the brunt of it, and will face bribes from many maritime merchants.

If the inside is rotten, the sea trade will not bring much tax to the imperial court in the end. On the contrary, many high-quality goods of Ming Dynasty, such as silk and porcelain, will be flown overseas.

Xu Pu's point of view is that since the emergence of corruption cannot be avoided, it is better to simply prohibit opening the sea across the board.Although this will reduce taxes a little, it can ensure the integrity of the officialdom of the Hongzhi Dynasty, and its hidden benefits are higher.

His remarks obviously reached the heart of Emperor Hongzhi.

You must know that Emperor Hongzhi has always demanded himself according to the standards of the ancient Mingjun.

If he wants to rejuvenate Daming, it is naturally inseparable from the group of civil servants.If the civil servants are corrupted internally, what about ZTE?
Xie Shen thought in his heart that Xu Pu is really a stubborn old man, it seems that it will be impossible not to use his trump card.

He took a deep breath, cupped his hands at Xu Pu, and said, "Mr. Ge's words are wrong. Whether officials are corrupt or not has nothing to do with opening the sea. Besides, the purpose of setting up the Bureau of Maritime Economics is to avoid any relationship with the Maritime Bureau. In this way, the Bureau of Sea Economics is under the control of the governor and is directly responsible to the imperial court. It does not have to have entanglements with the local government. How can there be corruption? Even if there is corruption, the imperial court will strictly investigate, but this is not a reason for refusing to open the sea. Don't give up eating because of choking."

　ps: Thank you for the monthly ticket of the book friend, the best Taishanghuang and his father~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)