Domineering Daming

Guo Guangxin stared at the man kneeling on the ground with a gloomy face, and said coldly: "You are so confident that you can hide it from me? Never thought that I would sit in this small shop? Or other inspectors?" ? Or local officials, local vendors, etc. came to inform?"

The inspector knelt on the ground, trembling, and said: "My lord, please forgive me. , not only the people you brought, but everyone who is worthy and respectable on this street has been greeted. There will be a lot of things going on at the governor's office today, and those adults have no time to pay attention to Yanzhou Mansion..."

Guo Guangxin understands why Bi Ziyan can barely maintain it for so many years, and the "New Deal" has made no breakthroughs; and why Sun Chuanting is so worried and can't wait.

The local problems are really too complicated, and all the problems have been pervasive and deep into the bone marrow for more than 200 years.

Once it enters the bone marrow, it needs to be scraped to cure the poison!

Guo Guangxin, as the former Minister of the Ministry of War, was always decisive when things went wrong. He turned his head and waved his hands expressionlessly.

Guo Guangxin's personal guards rushed in and dragged the governor out.

"My lord, spare my life, my lord, spare my life..." the inspector censor shouted, utterly terrified.

Guo Quande was terrified as he watched from the sidelines, he didn't dare to say anything, he lowered his head and trembled all over.

Guo Guangxin beckoned, and a bodyguard stepped forward quickly.

Guo Guangxin's eyes flickered, and he said, "I don't believe that everyone has been bribed. Go unannounced and don't contact people from the imperial court. Keep an eye on them."

Most of these personal guards are retired from the imperial army, and they are relatively simple.

"Yes!" The guard replied and left quickly.

Guo Guangxin turned his head to look at Guo Quande, and said, "Prepare me a pen and ink, and also, go back to my hometown in a few days, don't stay here."

Needless to say, Guo Guangxin, Guo Quande is also planning to run away, and if he stays here, he will not have a good life.

"It's the third uncle." Guo Quande left quickly to prepare.

Guo Guangxin picked up the pen, waved away Guo Quande, and started writing.

The first letter was written to Feng Jiangfeng, governor of Shandong Province. It strictly stated what he had seen and heard this time, and his tone was severe, accusing him of not strictly implementing the cabinet's decree, and there was a problem of perfunctory.

The second letter was addressed to the cabinet, but after careful consideration, he did not finish it.

He decided to conduct an in-depth investigation in Shandong to find out the problems at the grassroots level.

In addition, the letter to Feng Jiangfeng was also received.

On the other side, Xu Dahua, Liao Changyong, etc. also discovered the same problem. The local government's deception of imperial envoys has a myriad of methods, changes in many ways, and is hard to guard against.

Even if an old official like Xu Dahua was almost sent to a brothel after a banquet, if his personal guards hadn't arrived, it would definitely be another big scandal!

Even if there is no reward from the inspector censor, Sun Chuanting still has too many channels to learn the real situation in the local area.

Li Youtang, the newly appointed director of the State Administration of Commerce, accompanied Sun Chuanting to inspect some weaving workshops in the east of the city, and said something in a solemn tone.

"Although the imperial court has formulated the tax rules for the weaving industry long ago, and the tax collection power has been transferred to the State Administration of Taxation, in actual operation, these are all operated by the local government. Some governors' offices even personally participated in order to ease the tight finances..."

"Their taxes have always been complicated, and they are much higher than the court's regulations. There are also private transfers and mutual embezzlement. Almost every yamen has their 'national treasury'. The uses of this money are also varied. The officials heard that some The cost of prostitutes for local officials is actually reimbursed from here..."

"The total number of people in the State Administration of Commerce is currently 120. It will take two or three years to expand to the whole country... The State Administration of Taxation has been established for many years, and so far it has only five hundred people. The courage of magistrates to speak up..."

"The newly formed departments are coldly received by the government and the opposition. They are considered to be temporary agencies and will be abolished sooner or later. Therefore, the local government has tried their best to suppress, exclude, and isolate..."

Sun Chuanting walked with a group of people, watching while walking.He was accompanied by Zhang Guowei, Minister of the Ministry of War, and others, all of whom looked solemn.

Sun Chuanting took a newly woven silk from the shelf and asked, "How much is this silk?"

Li Youtang took over as the director of the State Administration of Commerce, and naturally put in a lot of effort, saying: "My lord, this kind of silk is not high-grade. In my Ming Dynasty, it is about six or seven taels of silver, but if it is sold overseas, it may be as high as more than 20 taels. In Su In the area of ​​Hangzhou, there are fine silk brocades, each as high as 20 taels, and overseas as high as a hundred taels..."

Sun Chuanting looked slightly different, and said: "How many horses can I make in a year?"

Li Youtang thought about it seriously, and said: "My lord, there is no specific data for the lower officials, but in the 40th year of Wanli, it was 50 horses, and in the third year of Chongzhen, the cabinet checked the bottom once, and it was about 60. Silk and mulberry brocade are regularly worn, and the sea trade is booming. Weaving workshops are not only developed in Suzhou and Hangzhou, but also in the capital. The officials estimate that there may be more than one million pieces a year..."

Sun Chuanting stopped in his tracks, pondered for a while, and said, "One million horses, the profit is close to ten million, such huge profits, how much is the court tax?"

Li Youtang frowned, and said: "Last year, it was roughly 20 taels."

Sun Chuanting looked indifferent, and walked forward again, saying: "The pace must be quickened."

Li Youtang, Zhang Guowei and others didn't know what Sun Chuanting was referring to, so they followed him forward.

After walking for a while, Zhang Guowei couldn't help but said, "My lord, the amount of money and food used by the Shuaifu is increasing. Although the situation of the treasury has eased this year, the disaster has never been relieved. It is inevitable that something will happen. If the Shuaifu Without restraint, not only the national treasury cannot afford it, but it may also lead to unpredictable consequences..."

As Minister of the Ministry of War, he is in charge of daily affairs, and he cannot hide from his eyes the every move of the commander-in-chief.

Sun Chuanting was not surprised by this, and said: "Mr. Sun Ge, Vice Marshal Qin are all veterans of the battlefield. They have served as loyal court officials in four dynasties. I believe that they have their own sense of propriety. In addition, with the emperor at the helm and my assistance, there will be no Big mistake. Your military department must not have any small thoughts, if you let me know that you are secretly stumbling and dragging your feet, don't blame me for sending you to the sky prison!"

Zhang Guowei quickly raised his hand and said, "It's a matter of great importance to the state, and I dare not wait for an official!"

Sun Chuanting glanced at him, and when he was about to leave, his eyes turned sharp and he said: "It's about the state, no one should mess around! If someone discusses peace behind the back of the court and the emperor, he will ignore the safety of the Ming state and focus on the front line." If there is nothing in the corpse of the soldiers, and there is no king or father in the eyes, I will execute you on the spot even if I risk the punishment of heaven!"

Zhang Guowei looked shocked, and hurriedly said: "The officials and others have absolutely no such intentions, please don't speculate!"

Sun Chuanting said there was a reason for this. During the Wanli period, the Ming Dynasty sent troops to North Korea to conquer the Wa Kingdom. It was a big victory, but some people actually negotiated peace behind the back of the court, causing a big disturbance. Many officials were affected by this and ended up miserable.

At the critical moment of the "New Deal", Sun Chuanting didn't want to make such a fuss.

Li Youtang and others' scalps were numb, they could feel that this was Sun Chuanting's vital point, anyone who dared to touch it would be smashed to pieces!

Sun Chuanting is also planning for a rainy day, warning some people to ensure that this kind of thing will not happen.

Knowing that his tone was too strong, he said: "In the evening, the emperor invites us to the Qianqing Palace to accompany him to have a meal. You come together, and you must prepare well. Don't be left speechless by the emperor's question, and you will lose Bige's face. .”

Zhang Guowei was flustered, raised his hand and said, "Thank you, sir, I understand."

Sun Chuanting gave a faint "hmm" and continued to walk forward.

Li Youtang and others looked at his back with a heavy heart.This "chief assistant" is becoming more and more dignified, and some methods are at his fingertips without any trace, but they continue to increase his authority, making it impossible to resist.

At the beginning of the Chinese lanterns, the Qianqing palace is full of lanterns, and the flow of people is like a tide.

Zhu Xu seldom entertained the officials of the foreign court in Qianqing Palace, even those foreign envoys would entertain them in the cabinet.

Speaking of which, Zhu Xu has been on the throne for more than ten years, and there are only a few times in the Qianqing Palace and the Huangji Palace.

"Do you think that later history books will think that I am extremely lazy and refuse to go to court?"

Zhu Xu was in Dongnuan Pavilion, glanced at the hourglass not far away, and smiled with Cao Huachun, Liu Shimin said.

Cao Huachun leaned forward and said with a smile: "The emperor's diligence is comparable to Taizong Taizong, who dares to say that the emperor is lazy."

Zhu Xu waved his hand to stop his flattery, and said, "Okay, is everyone here?"

Liu Shimin stepped forward and said, "All elders, Vice Marshal Qin, and the officials from the six ministries have all arrived, and the meals in the imperial dining room are almost ready."