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Chapter 253: Frankly speaking (fourth update)

Almost subconsciously, Hu Guang frowned, but he immediately returned to normal and asked calmly: "How?"

At this time, he was a little unsure whether Min Hongxue was trying to be mysterious and win attention, or whether he really saw the shortcomings and spoke out.

Min Hongxue seemed not to notice the change in Emperor Chongzhen's expression, and directly said: "On my way to the capital, I heard about the imperial government's policy of mobilizing grain, which was to send grain to the capital one by one from province to province. I thought this method was inappropriate. !”

Hu Guang didn't expect that he mentioned this, and was a little surprised. This method was proposed by him himself, and he thinks it is a very good method. He couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he asked directly: "Why is it wrong?"

"This policy seems to be a great good, but it ignores whether the specific implementation of the local government can meet expectations." When Min Hongxue said this, his expression became serious, and he raised his voice and said, "As I understand, this is a great service to the people!"

After hearing this, Hu Guang frowned and defended slightly unhappily: "I have sent factory guards to supervise. If you dare to do anything illegal, I will know about it and I will not be lenient!"

"Your Majesty, I admit that this move may be effective, but there are only a few factory guards. How big is the province? Is it possible to monitor it? Are there factory guards monitoring the prefecture, county and below? Local officials took the opportunity to extort money. Taking advantage of others..."

After hearing this, there was no need for Min Hongxue to go on. Hu Guang already understood what he meant. He is worthy of being a capable local official, and he is familiar with local conditions, far beyond the level of officials in the capital.

"...Therefore, I believe that the final result of this policy will be that disturbances to the people will spread throughout the provinces of the Ming Dynasty. If there are other disasters, or if they are taken advantage of by those who are interested, it is likely to trigger civil unrest in many places! I am by no means an alarmist in what I say! "When Min Hongxue said this, his face became very serious.

Hu Guang nodded repeatedly when he heard this. After Min Hongxue finished speaking, he quickly asked for advice: "In Min Qing's opinion, the capital is about to be short of food. What measures should be taken to deal with it?"

In fact, if it was only in the Gyeonggi area, a large amount of grain was seized during the raid on Shanxi merchants, which could be regarded as a temporary solution to the food crisis. But Hu Guang still wanted to ask, so he was naturally very sophisticated.

"In my humble opinion, I would like to choose a place with relatively large stocks in the surrounding provinces to supply the capital, so as to temporarily replace the large grain-producing provinces in the vacancy of transporting grain to the capital." Min Hongxue bowed and echoed, "Try to minimize the disturbance of local officials to the people. !”

Hu Guang nodded after hearing this. At this point, he really believed in Min Hongxue's true talent, so he humbly asked again: "In Min Qing's opinion, is there anything else that should be said?"

When Min Hongxue heard this, he was not polite and immediately said: "The original intention of the imperial court to use salt to compensate grain farmers was to reduce the harm to the people. It is indeed good. But this move is also taken for granted!"

When Hu Guang heard this, he was a little surprised and asked quickly: "Why do you take it for granted?"

"Perhaps your Majesty doesn't know that we have overstocked the salt of the Ming Dynasty. Many merchants have salt in their hands, but they have never been able to receive the salt. They can only sell it at a low price or pass it on to their children and grandchildren!" Min Hongxue replied without hesitation.

When Hu Guang heard this, he couldn't help but said: "What's so difficult about this? Just increase the production of salt!"

"Your Majesty, the facts are by no means that simple!" Min Hongxue immediately turned serious and replied seriously: "The stakes are very high, and there will definitely be resistance from existing salt merchants. There is a high probability that in the first few years, the salt tax revenue will be huge. The magnitude is reduced. May I ask Your Majesty, can the court bear it?"

At this point, before Hu Guang could speak, Min Hongxue himself added: "In fact, there is too much salt introduced and it has not been realized for many years. It is also the contribution of salt merchants! For example, the official salt is mixed with private salt, and the price is maintained at a high price, etc... …”

If Wen Tiren had not been the first assistant, if he had not changed his view of the emperor after coming to the capital, he would not have been so heartfelt.

"Also, the imperial court seems to be fully prepared for the Shanxi merchants, but in fact it is not. In my opinion, the imperial court did not delve into the affairs after the investigation of the Shanxi merchants. For example, to appease the people, appease the border troops, etc. All of these, just It is useless to rely on a white pole army. I will give you an example. The white pole army is a sword and a fist. In addition, the court still lacks a jujube. In my opinion, the investigation of Shanxi merchants has already There are signs of expansion.”

Having said this, Min Hongxue bowed, then raised his head and said seriously: "I think it's time to stop investigating the Shanxi merchants. Moreover, the imperial court wants to make it clear to the world. The crime of smuggling will not be pursued before today. After today If you do it again, you will end up like Fan Yongdou and others!"

He said this because he was afraid that Emperor Chongzhen would misunderstand him, so he took a serious attitude and immediately added: "Otherwise, I am afraid that not only the Shanxi merchants, but also the border areas of the Ming Dynasty will be in chaos due to fear. This is definitely not the case." It is a blessing to the court and a blessing to the people, so I hope your majesty will be careful!"

Hu Guang was indeed a little unhappy when he first listened. It wouldn't be a pity to kill all those Shanxi merchants. But after hearing about it, he also remembered many things in later generations. As long as the scale is large, it will definitely expand and cause very bad consequences.

If the raids on Shanxi merchants continue, there may be a chain reaction. By then, all the borders will be in chaos, and the trouble will be really big.

Thinking of this, Hu Guang also turned serious, nodded and affirmed: "What Min Qing said makes sense, I understand!"

Having said this, he remembered the problem that he had temporarily put aside before, and asked for advice: "Min Qing, many of the soldiers in Xuanfu Town are now in disarray..."

When he finished talking about the matter, Min Hongxue immediately replied: "Your Majesty, I just said that it is time to give jujube. The imperial court should quickly send officials with the ability to manage local affairs to fill the vacant positions. He calms the people's hearts and the military's morale, and together with the Baigan Army, one is strong and the other is soft, they govern the Xuanfu!"

Hu Guang nodded after hearing this. He was very satisfied with Min Hongxue. Then he inquired in detail about Min Hongxue's local governance and the people's sentiments in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty. He heard the real situation in Yunnan and Guizhou for the first time.

The monarch and his ministers chatted for a long time, and finally Hu Guang was quite satisfied and appointed Min Hongxue as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Bachelor of Huangji Palace, and he joined the cabinet to assist in government.

Subsequently, Hu Guang adjusted his strategy and followed Min Hongxue's proposal to abolish grain requisitions in other provinces except the major grain-producing provinces. He sent officials to Shanxi to stop the Baigan Army and factory guards from inspecting other small-scale Shanxi merchants. What he played is a clear message to the world.

Of course, Hu Guang did not pardon the eight major Shanxi merchants and other larger Shanxi merchants who had been confiscated. The final verdict was: The eight major Shanxi merchants headed by Fan Yongdou executed nine tribes. Among them, the backbone of the Tonglu clan, such as Fan Yongdou and other family patriarchs, all had Lingchi as their eldest son. The other immediate family members were decided and ranked first again. The male was assigned to Hainan and the female was assigned to the Jiaofang Division.

Then code, I may not be able to code it today

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