Bright Spring

He continued: "The relationship between the monarch and his ministers is like a father and a son. A kind father always hopes to treat all his sons fairly and kindly. There is a dispute over the land of Hue, and the establishment of an envoy in Da Nang has also made Champa reluctant to give up. I We all know. But the Champa Kingdom should put aside these disputes and obey the arrangement of the imperial court; I will consider the reason and will compensate your king and assign a large area of ​​Chenla to the Champa Kingdom.”

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he took out a map from the table, picked up the ink brush, and drew a circle on it.

The map shows the original border line, the southern territory of Champa, probably to the south of Nha Trang and Cam Ranh Bay.Zhu Gaoxu drew a new stroke, extending the border of Champa to the vicinity of Ho Chi Minh and Vung Tau. (Cam Ranh Bay is a large bay. A few hundred years later, Soviet | Soviet aircraft carriers were stationed here, but at this time it has not yet developed, and sailing ships do not need such a large deep-water bay.)

Zhu Gaoxu picked up the map and handed it forward.Qi Tai bent down and reached out to take it, glanced at it, and handed it to Luo Pan.

"Saigon Bay (Vung Tau, because the Chenla people set out from there and came to pay tribute in the early Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty gave it a place name of 'Saigong', which means paying tribute from the West), nominally will belong to the Champa Kingdom, and Ming Dynasty will build another 'envoy city' here." Zhu Gaoxu said, "The territory in the south is not small, can the unhappiness of King Champa losing Hue and other places be offset?"

Luo Pan looked at it and said, "Emperor Ming learned that Hue and Da Nang belong to our country, but the land north of Saigon is still in the hands of the Chenla people."

Wei Da, Duke of the State of Wei, finally couldn't help being upset at this moment, and said, "Hasn't Hue already been captured by the Annan Kingdom? If you keep haggling, the capital city of Champa will not be in your hands."

Zhu Gaoxu reached out his hand to stop Wei Da, and said with a pleasant face: "Since our dynasty wants to set up an envoy city in Saigon, it must be controlled actually. The official army is stationed in Saigon, and when the time comes, the Champa will go to take over the land in the north. How difficult is it? Don't Urgently, we have to take a long-term view.”

Luo Pan said helplessly: "I will convey the emperor's will to the king. If our country abides by His Majesty's wishes, can His Majesty stop Annan's army from attacking our capital?"

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and said: "If the Champa Kingdom sincerely proclaims its vassals and cooperates to enter our dynasty's system, I certainly don't want to see the people of Champa being massacred|killed, and I will definitely stop the Annan Army from continuing to advance south. But you respond , must be quick, because the army attacking south is not the Ming Dynasty's official army."

Luo Pan had no choice but to bow to Zhu Gaoxu.

At this time, Qi Tai's voice said: "The Holy Majesty speaks well and is very honest. He will do his best to fulfill what he promises to you. You and other monarchs and ministers should also be thankful that the Holy Majesty is a lenient and benevolent king, otherwise how could the matter be settled like this? "

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Most things depend on strength. If the monarch is only cruel and not benevolent, it will be difficult to make the country strong. I am not that kind of person. You go back to reassure the king and see the situation clearly."

After Luo Pan agreed, he took a map and bowed to leave.

8 Chapter Fifty

After Qi Tai came out of Rouyi Hall, he said goodbye to the foreign envoys and others, and prepared to go to the cabinet in the south of Wuying Hall.

At this time, he saw his colleague Qian Xun watching from a distance.Qian Xun seemed to have something to do, but did he come straight to the gate of Rouyi Hall, or he hesitated.So Qi Tai walked over on his own, and when he saw Qian Xun, the two bowed to each other.

Qian Xun is a civil servant in his thirties, with a medium build and an ordinary appearance, the kind of person who is easily overlooked.He was able to achieve his current position entirely because of his background as the governor of the Han Palace.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the frowning Qian Xun sighed, as if to start an unpleasant topic.Qian Xun didn't talk too much, and said straight to the point: "I'm still short of money. I thought about asking the Holy Majesty, but I thought about how to do this, so I hesitated for a while. The way is to ask Qi Butang to mediate. It's really bothering me." .”

"Looking for Xia Butang?" Qi Tai was also very straightforward, directly talking about the main point.

Qi Tai, Minister of the Ministry of War and a cabinet minister, is not only in charge of his duties, he is also responsible for communicating the relationship between the various yamen.

The main reason is that there are often differences between the old officials of the Hanwangfu and the officials of the new yamen, and the veteran officials of the court.But Qi Tai has a special status, he is both an ex-official of the Jianwen Dynasty and a hero of "criminal crimes". He can speak on both sides, so everyone is often willing to look for him.

Sure enough, Qian Xun nodded and said: "It's mainly the Ministry of Household Affairs, but if the Ministry of Industry can help, and Qi Butang can also think of a way in the Ministry of War, things will be easier to handle."

"I'm going to the cabinet, let's talk as we go," Qi Tai said.

Qian Xun said: "The Holy Majesty once issued a decree to allocate money worth 20 guan every year from the inner treasury and the household department of the palace; at first it was enough, and the Southern Office could also allocate money to reward officials and craftsmen. But since last year, the money has not been enough Yes, because the iron factory ordered to produce a batch of firecrackers and armor for An Nanguo."

Qi Tai was a little surprised: "An Nanguo wants to exchange those items with cocoons and rice, and the exchanged goods should be received by the household department. Didn't the household department allocate money and grain for you?"

Qian Xun turned his head, stared and said: "No. People from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of War all believed that the iron factory of the South Administration did not need capital. The Ministry of Account also sent an official document to the South Administration, explaining the reasoning, but the money and food were only [-]% nor."

He went on to say in detail: "The key to making firearmor armor requires iron materials, charcoal (coking coal), and craftsmen's manpower. Iron materials and charcoal are supplied by the prefectures and counties of Zhili under the division of the Ministry of Households, and the county magistrates serve as slaves. Shipped in batches from official kilns in various places.

The craftsmen and military craftsmen were provided by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War respectively. The two yamen assigned some resident craftsmen, shift craftsmen, and military craftsmen to serve in the ironworks of the South Department.These craftsmen inherited their father's business from their sons and were not allowed to leave their nationality. They didn't need wages, and they had to pay food taxes to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War.The government only provided grain and salt when the craftsmen went out to work; and the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War also borne all of these grains and salt.Therefore, my colleagues believe that the Nanshu Iron Works no longer needs wages. "

Qi Tai nodded from time to time, listening to Qian Xun's narration.

Qian Xun changed the subject and said again: "However, things are definitely not what they appear on paper! Iron materials and charcoal are often not supplied on schedule, and the quantity is always in short supply. Delays are really common; even if the raw materials are shipped to the south There are good and bad things in the Department of Iron Works... In fact, almost all of them are bad. Can't the Shouyu Sinan Department reopen the factory and return those iron materials and charcoal to the furnace?

Many of the craftsmen and military craftsmen transferred here have no skills at all, and some are not good at this trade at all. Just because their grandfathers and fathers were craftsmen, they became craftsmen.There are also those who did not come for various reasons, some fled, and some living craftsmen spent money and handed it over to the branch of the Ministry of Industry and War for exemption; hire people. "

Qian Xun sighed and said, "The Holy Majesty has repeatedly told me to make good and cheap armaments. I am deeply favored by the emperor, how can I deceive my superiors and fool me?

So the lower officials thought of a way to sell all the raw materials supplied by the counties to private mines at low prices, because they would not be needed anyway; and then paid for good iron materials and charcoal.Then spend money to hire merchants to transport them to the capital.

As for the useless craftsmen, the lower officials asked them to pay to offset the corvee; but the craftsmen were not under the control of the guards, and we couldn't manage the craftsmen. After they returned to their hometowns, most of them refused to pay the money.In addition, there are also escaped and vacant artisan households, and there are simply not enough manpower.The lower officials can only allocate money to hire craftsmen from all over the country, and use the food and salt supplied by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War as part of their wages.

As a result, the 20 yuan of old money allocated by the Ministry of Households and the Imperial Palace’s treasury every year cannot be maintained; last year, a large number of weapons were added, and the Southern Department’s money and food continued to run short, and now it still owes money to private mines and craftsmen.If we default and don't pay back, where will we go to buy materials and hire people in the future?The Southern Department has limited power, and it cannot control those merchant gangs and craftsmen. "

Qian Xun looked distressed, shook his head and said: "In the past, I only did the history of the governor of the Han Palace. I really didn't expect that the joints in the court are so complicated."

Qi Tai suddenly echoed: "Under the Sixth Ministry, those who use the supply chain and the management of craftsmen and military craftsmen have always been a mess, and no one can figure it out. It's not the fault of Qian Shijun.

For example, a county in Taiping Prefecture in Zhili Province is responsible for supplying charcoal refining to Qian Shijun, but this county may also supply various expenses to ten places at the same time; Demand deadlines and good or bad? "

After hearing this, Qian Xun finally showed some relief. He nodded hastily and said, "What Qi Butang said is extremely true, it's really too difficult. Let's move the whole body. These matters are related to the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, and the local officials. It's all related, there is really no way.

After thinking hard, I felt that there were only two results.The first is to allow the Ministry of Households to allocate money; the second is that the South Department Iron Works cannot guarantee the quality, construction period, or even quantity of military weapons.

As a result, the latter has a great trust from the sage; therefore, after much deliberation, the lower officials still need the money from the Ministry of Accounts.And because of the problems of those craftsmen, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War also have a share, so they should pay some money? "

Qi Tai shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Don't rely on the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War for money envoys; the capital's central | central yamen didn't receive much money for exploiting craftsmen, and the local branch offices have long been used for various expenses. Those of us The yamen, if you think about it in detail, are barely maintained. There is really no other way but to try to get rid of the local people under the authority.

It can still be maintained at the moment, but if the courtiers want to do something big, they must not do it; unless the Holy Majesty wants to do it, the government will find a way to increase the exorbitant taxes.

During the Yongle period, Emperor Taizong planned to move the capital to Beiping.I ascended the throne today, but stopped this major event because I was worried that the people in Shandong and other places near Beiping might be forced to rebel; during the "Battle of Jingnan", Shandong and other places were deeply damaged by the war and had to rest and recuperate. Therefore, the government cannot exploit too much, let alone blame corrupt officials. "(In the original time and space, the civil rebellion in Shandong, the local officials and the army could not be put down, Zhu Di beheaded all the commanders and envoys and the officials of the whole province below, countless dead, the government and the public were shocked.)

Qian Xun said: "What should we do?"

Qi Tai pondered for a long time, turned his head to look at Qian Xun, and said: "This matter must first solve the urgent need, and then think about the long-term solution. And the long-term solution involves a lot; we need to plan a detailed solution, and then get the support of the Holy One." , to try."

Qian Xun immediately said: "The lower officials are in urgent need! Is Xia Butang willing to pay the money? Or is the palace treasury able to pay? The Holy Majesty is laying off the maids, there should be more money in the palace."

Qi Tai shook his head and said, "I'll go find Xia Yuanji and Song Li, and have a talk together."

"Song Tiju?" Qian Xun repeated.

Qi Tai said: "Currently there are not enough coins on the market, so the silver coins and copper coins minted by the central bank have been directly used for imperial expenditure in recent years. Song Li is in charge of how much more minted coins are minted; , it is the Ministry of household management.

If the household department should bear all the shortfall of Qianshijun, it would be difficult for Xiabutang to justify it.So I went to discuss with Song Li to allocate part of the deficit of the South Department to the central bank's coinage, so that Xia Butang would be more accommodating.This method is only an expedient measure, but it can temporarily relieve Qian Shijun's immediate urgency. "

After hearing this, Qian Xun was so grateful that he kept bowing and thanking him several times.

Qi Tai hurriedly supported his arm, and said, "We are all for state affairs, and Qian Shijun doesn't have to do that."

Qian Xun sighed: "Qi Butang is really a good minister of the Holy One."

Qi Tai shook his head and said: "What I have done can only solve one thing, but cannot solve the long-term. Up to now, I still feel ashamed of the grace of the Holy One for saving lives and reinventing others. Qian Shijun's wrong praise is not intentional to make me ashamed!"

Qian Xun said in a low voice: "'Those people' are on all the alert against the so-called New Party, but they just sit back and watch the bad government. If their colleagues are as talented as Qi Butang, how can everything be like this? Why should Qi Butang be ashamed?"

Qi Tai turned his head to take a look, and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Qian must not lose his words, the situation is not so simple; the reasons for the current situation are very complicated. If Zhuliao is really unbearable, how can the sage reuse it?"

Qian Xun frowned and remained silent.

Qi Tai persuaded: "I'm afraid the veterans are also scolding you, it's just that they see things in different ways. If there are only misunderstandings and criticisms, the government may go from bad to worse, not as good as before."