Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Then why is it a secret that only Cao Run, the criminal department involved in the matter, knows?"

Jiang Xinghuo was still a little confused.

Zhu Gaosui explained again, and Jiang Xinghuo finally understood.

Because the imperial court purchased paper, it had an exclusive name in the Ming Dynasty, called "paper notes".

The purchasing business of "paper notes" for purchasing paper for the six ministries and temples belongs to the Ministry of Punishment.

When Lao Zhu divided the powers of various ministries, he initially prescribed the powers of the Ministry of Punishment as "the criminal laws of the world and the subjugation of disciples and subordinates, the administration of confinement and the punishment of stolen goods, and anyone who violates the law of making money and food, marrying households, farmland, tea, and salt."

But as time went by, the power of the Ministry of Punishment became more and more powerful, and it became "the one responsible for the redemption of stolen goods, money and food, household servants, marriages, land, tea and salt, paper notes, stipends, prison food, and the removal of traitors from prisons." .

Although it sounds really outrageous, the fact is that the yamen of various ministries and temples in the Ming Dynasty were very short of paper for official documents!

Not only were all the ministries and bureaucracies short of paper, but the Imperial College was also short of paper at the beginning. They even had to reuse textbooks and print them on both sides.

In addition, the way for couriers in express delivery shops to make extra money is to secretly cut official paper and sell it for money.

This is because the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty severely damaged social productivity. Compared with the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the papermaking industry in the Ming Dynasty shrank seriously, especially for official paper with relatively high quality requirements. The output was even more urgent.

In addition, naturally because of the procurement system, no one is willing to supply paper to the government.

"What's the current situation with the procurement of official document paper?"

Zhu Gaosui explained: "Every yamen office uses memorial papers, case examinations, travel records, books, and prisoner's admissions and defenses, all of which are written on paper. Shanxi Branch is responsible for this. Every quarter, the accounting department uses memorial papers and other papers. It is estimated that When a certain number of banknotes are used, the headquarters will make a clear document to pay to the Huguang Department. The stolen fines will be paid according to the customs. The officials will go to the markets and merchants' selling places to buy them according to the current price. When the full amount is sent to the department, the official will seal it in the hall. Ring the bell, and charge the treasury to collect the paper in the treasury, and wait for each department to present the number of paper used in each season to the court, and send it to the Huguang Department for filing, and the customs will be paid according to the number. By the end of the season, all sales will be used, and each department will call it a certain use. After passing a certain number of papers of a certain color, go to the headquarters one by one, sort through the expenditure papers of each department, and attach them to the file in the future. The remaining quarters will be implemented as before."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded after hearing this. To put it bluntly, Shanxi Province of the Ministry of Punishment is responsible for connecting with other ministries and temples, collecting the types and total amount of paper required, and then registering it with the Huguang Ministry, and then spending the confiscated stolen money and fines. Buy.

As for the procurement management process of official document paper in Ming Dynasty, it started on a quarterly basis. Each department reported its estimated paper demand to the Ministry of Justice, and then the Ministry of Justice went to the unified procurement. It was a management method of living within your means and deliberately controlling the use of official document paper. Quantity, of course, is impossible to control, even in this life. There are so many officials, the ball is kicked back and forth endlessly, and there is not enough official paper. How can it be done?

So I can only buy and buy.

But the Ministry of Punishment was not happy, because all the expenses for the "paper note" came from the Ministry of Punishment's stolen fines, that is, the confiscated money, which belonged to the Ministry of Punishment's own small treasury.

The procurement process is that "everyone who uses the paper will spend it within the fine money collected by the Ministry of Punishment official, and send an official to estimate the value according to the monthly price, and buy it in two." The so-called time estimate is based on the current price at that time. Price estimation can be regarded as the procurement standard. This is done from the central court to the local government, and it must be done this way whenever it involves the purchase of items.

According to the "Records of Emperor Taizu Gao of the Ming Dynasty" that Jie Jin has just re-edited, it can be known that when the Ming Dynasty was founded, the time estimate was quite outrageous, and it was once every three days. Because the price often started to change just after the price was estimated, it was easy to make mistakes. , and it will lead to relevant officials being held responsible, so under strong request, considering that this system is indeed unreasonable, starting from the fourth year of Hongwu, the price will be estimated once a month.

But there are a lot of tricks in this time estimation system.

In addition to what Jiang Xinghuo discovered through his previous field investigation of the small town by the Yunliang River, various monasteries and yamen in Nanjing will use their purchasing rights to blackmail vendors for free, even for items that need to be purchased for a long time. , in terms of price, it is often lower than the normal market price, because the time valuation system stipulates that the price is provided by businessmen in the industry, and once determined, the purchase price is locked within one month.

The Ministry of Punishment will openly lower the purchase price, making the suppliers of official paper unprofitable, and even compensate the Ministry of Punishment, and then take advantage of the transportation, damage, actual purchase number and book purchase number of the paper. Save money on stolen goods and fines, and even make extra profits.

Jiang Xinghuo keenly discovered that this seemed to be an incident that could be used as a primer.

Just like the "Guo Huan case" among the four major Hongwu cases, at the beginning, the cause of the case was very simple. Yushi Yumin and Ding Tingju reported that Guo Huan used his power to collude with Li Yu, Zhao Quande, Hu Yi, Wang Daoheng and others for corruption, including embezzlement. Taxes from Taiping Prefecture, Zhenjiang Prefecture and other prefectures, embezzling autumn grains from western Zhejiang, and levying various taxes on water, food, treasury, gods and Buddhas, etc. under clever pretexts.

To be honest, these are just the basic operations of the Ming Dynasty gentry and civil servants, so there is nothing surprising.

But unfortunately, Guo Huan became the person who hit Lao Zhu's gun, and became the introduction to the situation.

Soon the "Guo Huan Case" implicated twelve chief secretaries across the country, including Zhao Mao, the Minister of Rites, Wang Huidi, the Minister of Punishments, Wang Zhi, the Minister of War, and Mai Zhide, the Minister of Works. The history books record that "from the left and right ministers of the Six Ministries and below, , stolen seven million, Ci Lianzhi, provincial officials, tens of thousands of people died." In order to recover the stolen food, it caused great turmoil throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Now, whether Jiang Xinghuo wanted to regain the procurement rights of the central ministries and temples of the imperial court, or to strictly control the capital, he needed a trigger to initiate a new round of temple reshuffle.

"So, is this news of any use to the Imperial Master?"

Zhu Gaosui stared at Jiang Xinghuo.

Of course Jiang Xinghuo understood what Zhu Gaosui meant. This kind of help was not free, but a disguised form of urging him to pay more attention to overseas vassal affairs.

Although there is a saying that "the beholder is clear", in fact, Zhu Gaosui, who was at the center of the huge whirlpool of the power struggle in the Ming Dynasty temple, sometimes knew better than anyone else how terrible the battle for the prince was.

He had no choice before, but now that there is a way to leave the Ming Dynasty and establish his own independent kingdom as Prince Xiaoyao, why not take it?

"It's useful, but the validity period is a bit short. I don't know if it's enough." Jiang Xinghuo replied with a smile.

This is a very intriguing answer. It seems to be an answer to Zhu Gaosui, but it is actually a question.

In other words, when will Ming's strategic focus shift to the north?

Yes, the question is when, not if.

Now that Annan is in trouble, there is not much time left for him to deal with the myriad of things in the south.

Because in the coming time, Ming's strategic focus will inevitably shift back to the north.

The first reason is, of course, that the main force of more than 200,000 Yan troops near Nanjing City has not returned home for more than two years. The soldiers, whose wives, children, and children are all in the north, have reached the limit of their patience, let alone moving all their family members here. , if they really move here, the whole of Beizhili will probably be empty.

And there is another important factor that is the climate. The northern army cannot tolerate the heat. After staying in the south for two years, many of them are on the verge of collapse. If they are not allowed to go back after the winter, and if they are allowed to stay for another year, I am afraid that Mutinies are not uncommon.

This is a reality that no one can change. Why do the Jin and Mongols in the north automatically withdraw their troops as soon as summer comes? Here's why.

The second reason is what I said before. After the southern campaign to conquer Annan, the military center of the Ming Dynasty will be transferred to the north. One is to deal with the last two kings of Sai who are self-respecting and unruly. The second generation of King Qin and the second generation of King Jin; the second was to beat the Mongols painfully and hard, making them unable to go south in a short period of time.

In this way, we can concentrate on dealing with the threat of Timur's Eastern Expedition that may come around the third year of Yongle.

The other is to develop the northern lair, which is also an important reason in strategic planning.

In short, various factors led to the fact that in the second year of Yongle, it was very likely that the summer would not be available. When the winter ended and spring came, the entire court team would be moved to the north by Zhu Di, leaving the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi to stay in the south. That's what happened historically.

This is the inevitable result that is not dependent on anyone’s will.

But when exactly this time is, no one knows.

This is an absolute military secret.

"This is a secret." Zhu Gaosui also smiled.

If you want to know this secret, you have to pay extra.

"Tell me the time. Before this time, I will do my best to complete your overseas feudal affairs, right here in Luzon, so that you can escape."

Zhu Gaosui was very satisfied with the result of this exchange. He murmured slowly: "Luzon is a small country in the Southeast China Sea. It produces gold and grows rice, which matures more than a year. It often trades with the people of Zhang and Quan, and the people live there. There are tens of thousands of people there. Since the fifth year of Hongwu, two tributes have been paid to the Ming Dynasty. It is not far or close to the Ming Dynasty. It’s a good place, it’s a really good place.”

The current Luzon Kingdom is actually the main part of the northern half of the Philippines in later generations. It is a fairly large island group. The island is a world of its own, with mountains, plains, rivers, lakes, everything you want, and it is quite rich in products.

Zhu Gaosui was too lazy to go to Tianzhu to fight. He just thought that Luzon, which was close to the Ming Dynasty, was quite good. He could take over it if he conquered it. There had been contacts there since the Song Dynasty. The degree of Chineseization was quite good, even better than that of Champa City. There were many Immigrants from the Ming Dynasty found it easy to rule.

In fact, Luzon is indeed a good place. Even if the Ming Dynasty did not occupy it, it would have been conquered by Spain during the Age of Discovery in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The Spaniards also used this base to begin to exploit the Ming Dynasty's southeastern coastal trade interests. Have a plan.

This is the truth as the saying goes: "If God does not take it, he will suffer the blame; when the time comes, if he fails, he will suffer the disaster." This is the truth.

Since this world is the age of global navigation started by the Ming Dynasty, Luzon, which is so close at hand, must naturally be included.

After a moment of satisfaction, Zhu Gaosui said: "Before April of the second year of Yongle."

"Before April?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought deeply for a moment, nodded slightly and said, "That's enough."

In fact, it is indeed enough. It basically coincides with another major event, the 2.1 million tael commercial tax, and the difference is only one or two months.

Then he asked: "This person is Cao Run?"

"It's completely under control." Zhu Gaosui said confidently.

This shows that even if he is asked to report his colleagues, he will not retract his confession. He should have the evidence already. In addition, the lives of his family and his own prosperity are all in Zhu Gaosui's hands.

"Okay, let me think about how to use this again."

"National Master, please think about it slowly."

Zhu Gaosui said goodbye and left, and Jiang Xinghuo began to sort out the sudden news in his room.

News is not good or bad, only how people use it.

"No, we have to discuss this matter with the old monk."

After Zhuo Jing was promoted to Minister of Rites, there are now two vice-presidents in the Presidential Reform Affairs Office. Rong Guogong Yao Guangxiao and Xie Jin, and Yao Guangxiao's office is right next to Jiang Xinghuo.

"It's quite intriguing at this time and this person."

Yao Guangxiao put down the pen in his hand and pondered for a moment, still a little unsure.

"I understand your concerns."

Jiang Xinghuo tapped the table with his fingers and said, "But this matter is the best introduction to Jingcha. It is equivalent to a knife being handed to his hand."

"Be careful of being used as a swordsman."

Jiang Xinghuo frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"

Yao Guangxiao nodded and said nothing more.

Speaking of this, Yao Guangxiao comforted him: "Don't worry too much. This news should be accurate. After all, it is difficult to expose it, but there are many ways to confirm it. And the Ministry of Punishments has made a lot of questionable amounts in the paper over the years." It won’t be low. As long as we get to the bottom of it, it’s impossible to destroy the evidence and cover it up. Separating the purchasing rights from various ministries and temples will also help strengthen the authority of the Ministry of Revenue and create a better business environment.”

"So, did Cao Run say what the amount is?"

"In terms of silver, it has accumulated to at least tens of thousands taels over the years."

Even though he had done enough psychological construction, Yao Guangxiao couldn't help but sigh when he heard this.

"These people are too courageous!"

Anyone would have to sigh, after all, this is just ordinary official paper!

Although he had long expected that this matter might not be simple, Yao Guangxiao still felt unbelievable after Jiang Xinghuo told it so bluntly.

The level of corruption is truly shocking.

"What I'm thinking about now is that if this matter expands and becomes a major case, what should we do about things like paper for official documents? After all, we still have to solve the problem, and we can't leave a mess in the end. Clean it up, the purchasing rights have been taken back, and there must be corresponding measures to deal with the aftermath."

This is exactly the problem that Jiang Xinghuo has been pondering over.

"It's hard to say anything else. If it's just a paper note, there is a way." Yao Guangxiao said with a smile, stroking his beard.

"Speak quickly." Jiang Xinghuo's eyes lit up. Having someone who could help him share the pressure and think about countermeasures really made him feel more relaxed.

“Papers purchased from the private sector can actually be delivered to prisoners and litigants instead.”

"Prisoners and litigants receive paper?"

Yao Guangxiao nodded slightly and said: "That's right. Rather than asking the various ministries and temples to entrust the Ministry of Punishment to purchase official paper, it is better to let the prisoners and litigants pay the paper in kind directly. All prisoners, except for deserting the army, escaping prisoners, and being escorted into exile by their whole families, need A certain amount of paper for official documents is paid in kind, and the litigant pays the paper in lieu of litigation fees. In this way, the government does not directly handle the paper and has no contact with the market price, and the standard is set, and the government cannot reject it for reasons such as unqualified."

Jiang Xinghuo realized a little bit, so it was actually some kind of physical manifestation of the prisoner's legal fees and fines.

The method of collecting papers for prisoners and litigants first reduces unnecessary prosecutions. After all, there are litigation fees. If it is a trivial neighborhood dispute, it will obviously not be a crime. Secondly, the payment targets are broad enough, as long as the government uses it. If the paper is not too much, then relying on this channel, even without conducting field research, it can be inferred from the data of lawsuits and prisoners that it is probably enough, and there may even be a surplus.

In fact, what Jiang Xinghuo doesn't know is that this method was used in the Ming Dynasty from the Yongle era until Xuande and Zhengtong. This method has just not appeared yet. It seems that in the old monk's heart, it has already touched and Planned.

Yao Guangxiao wrote on the paper: "Every year in spring, summer, autumn and winter, this yamen will set up a document book and take turns to take charge of it. Each department will catch up with the paper and send it to the department in charge, and the attached book will be clear. Order the clerk in charge of the warehouse to collect and store it. "Every month, all departments use paper sheets and go to the branch office for application. The remaining amount will be handed over to the headquarters at the end of the quarter, and the long-term orders will be sent to the inner government, and the long-term orders will be handed over to the treasury with the attached files."

"How about we just do it like this?"

"That's very good."

Jiang Xinghuo thinks that Yao Guangxiao's method is really good, that is, the bulk of the office paper for each ministry and temple is collected by prisoners and litigants. If it is really not enough, then the Ministry of Punishment will pay for it, but the money will be registered with the Ministry of Household Affairs. Put it in the warehouse's account, and then go buy it. If there is a balance, hand it back and wait for the next distribution.

Jiang Xinghuo calculated it silently. There were many things at hand, but overall it was still orderly in chaos.

"I have talked to Jin Youzi about the insurance law. Tomorrow, through the name of Daming Bank, I will talk to businessmen in the banking industry about commercial insurance for the people, especially workers, and insurance for foreign trade commodities. The matters of the Shipping Department are also covered. Gotta hurry up.”

"Yes, hurry up. Now in terms of overseas trade, Japan, North Korea, Annan, and Champa have all signed trade contracts. When taking out goods, you must have insurance, and when importing, you must also collect customs duties through the Shipping Department. ." Yao Guangxiao agreed.

Lifting the maritime ban, establishing commodity insurance, and reopening the shipping department are all one-stop tasks.

"Take a look at the current lines."

Jiang Xinghuo just took the paper and wrote directly.

Overseas Trade: Maritime Prohibition-Commodity Insurance-Shipping Department

Ocean Exploration: Luzon-Malacca-Tianzhu

Domestic Industry: Coal - New Technology Research and Development - Comprehensive Industrial Revolution

Social security: commercial insurance-herbal medicine cultivation-promotion of primary care

Reform of the Administration of Officials: Papers from the Ministry of Punishment-Beijing Inspection-Kaochengfa

Fiscal Currency: Salt Law - Scaling of Taxation - Establishing Local Taxation to Relieve Central Financial Pressure

"Six-front battle."

Jiang Xinghuo let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyebrows.

With the deepening of the reform process, it is obvious that it is different from the previous horizontal version of the boss battle mode. The things we face are inextricably linked, and different threads form a large network.

——————

When Jiang Xinghuo was worried, Yangzhou was thousands of miles away.

In the evening, the sky was overcast and raindrops fell.

Jie Jin stood in the middle of the courtyard, letting the fine rainwater be blown by the slanting wind, pouring on his shoulders and soaking his blue official robe.

"The sky is really going to rain at any time. The sky that was clear just a moment ago turns to dark clouds in a blink of an eye."

Beside him, Wang Shijie quickly walked out of the house, held up an umbrella and stood beside Xie Jin, and spoke slowly.

"Um."

Xie Jin nodded slightly and said nothing. His brows were filled with gloom, and he was obviously in a bad mood.

It was normal for him to be in a bad mood, because during this business trip, not only did he face death threats, but several officials from the Huanghuai Chief Envoy's Department died inexplicably, and they were all "normal deaths", which made him hesitant and could only Staying in the relatively safe Yangzhou Mansion, after all, this is the territory that Wang Shijie just took over.

In addition, the kitchen households in the Lianghuai Salt Farm began a general strike. Needless to say, it was definitely instigated by the salt merchants.

Jinyiwei and the Metropolitan Procuratorate have nothing to do about this kind of thing. If they arrest officials, they have nothing to say, but there is a collective strike for the kitchen households, so they really have nothing to do.

So Xie Jin is really worried.

But what's the use of worrying? He volunteered to take on this responsibility. If he couldn't achieve results, Jiang Xinghuo might not do anything to him, but his status in the new department was destined to plummet. If he didn't want to be transferred in the future, he would have to spend his whole life. Wielding his pen as his editor-in-chief of Ming Pao.

It's not bad, but as a man, he obviously has a better future of making achievements and can live in front of eight distinguished people. Who wants to stay in the room and write something?

Maybe Xie Jin was willing ten years ago, but now Xie Jin is no longer the proud young man he was when he became famous. After ten years of being beaten by officials, he has become a middle-aged man who spares no effort to climb up. Nothing is more important to him than power, and power requires him to handle the bad situation at hand to obtain it.

"Sir, there are guests outside."

While Jie Jin was deep in thought, a junior official walked into the courtyard from outside, bowed and said.

"who?"

Xie Jin asked casually.

"It's Wang Yuanshan, the left counselor of the Huanghuai Chief Envoy Department, and Li Heng, the co-president of Huai'an Prefecture. They are asking to see you, sir. They say they have issues regarding the salt affairs and want to discuss them with you."

Zuo Shenzheng was the second-in-command of the Chief Envoy Department, and Tongzhi of Huai'an Prefecture was also the second-in-command of Huai'an Prefecture.

Before the administrative division reform in the first year of Yongle, that is, before Huai'an Prefecture was removed from Southern Zhili, Huai'an Prefecture was one of the only two prefectures in Southern Zhili north of the Yangtze River, the other being Yangzhou Prefecture.

Huai'an Prefecture has jurisdiction over six counties and two states, and its jurisdiction is basically equivalent to the entire territory of the three cities of Huai'an, Suqian, and Lianyungang in later generations, as well as the central and northern parts of Yancheng City and the eastern part of Xuzhou City.

Xuzhou area

In short, Huai'an Prefecture directly governs the Lianghuai Salt Fields area. Since Lao Zhu established it, the economy has been extremely developed, and commerce has also been prosperous. It has always been the leader of the prefectures in Jiangbei.

These two people must have come on behalf of the Huanghuai Chief Envoy and the chief officials of the Huai'an Mansion.

Jie Jin was a little dazed, then nodded and said, "Let them come in."

The officer who summoned the messenger quickly retreated, and two figures stepped out of the door into the courtyard.

The man on the left is wearing a scarlet robe. He is about fifty years old. He has a mustache and a thin cheek. He looks quite elegant, especially when he holds a feather fan in his hand and walks very elegantly. It is Wang Yuanshan, a member of the Zuo Shengzheng (from the third rank).

The man on the right has an ordinary appearance. Although he does not have a scarlet robe to complement him and only wears a blue robe, he has a straight back and is full of energy. He is Li Heng, a colleague of Huai'an Prefecture.

"Jie Imperial Envoy."

Wang Yuanshan smiled and saluted Xie Jin with cupped fists, and said straight to the point: "I'm here to discuss the salt affairs with you. I wonder if the imperial envoy has time?"

"I have already known what happened in the Lianghuai Salt Farm."

Xie Jin said quietly: "I have my own way... Now that I'm here, let's wait in Yangzhou Mansion. After I finish handling this matter, I will naturally convene everyone to discuss the aftermath plan."

"ah……"

Hearing this, Wang Yuanshan was stunned.

its not right!

He originally wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to win over Xie Jin, and asked Xie Jin to help them build a bridge. He invited officials from the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Jin Yiwei to discuss the matter, and finally reached an alliance agreement.

The salt merchants are not short of money, so they are not short of it either.

In the eyes of these corrupted people, money can settle everything, and the same is true for Jie Jin, the imperial envoy.

He had deliberately ignored him before, just to let it sit for a while and then come up with a price. Unfortunately, he didn't expect that as soon as he opened his mouth, he encountered such a tough attitude from Xie Jin and suppressed the matter directly.

"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, are you kidding me? Are you just going to watch the Zaohu strike escalate and be punished by His Majesty?"

Wang Yuanshan frowned and tried to continue to persuade Xie Jin.

As long as Jie Jin is willing to cooperate, everything will be easy to talk about.

"Haha, Wang Shenzheng is teaching me how to do things?"

However, Xie Jin just sneered at his words.

"..."

Wang Yuanshan's face froze. He clearly felt the strong sarcasm in Xie Jin's words, which made his face turn red and white.

"The king participates in politics, and I have been given the emperor's order to handle the matter of rectifying the salt affairs in the Huaihe River. Here, I have the final say."

After saying that, Xie Jin glanced at him and sneered: "If there's nothing else, I'm going to have a rest."

But those eyes were very frightening, and they looked like they were about to throw a cup of wine into the air, with swords and axes flying around.

When Wang Yuanshan heard this, he cursed you bastard in his heart, but on the surface he smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay, your Majesty, take a rest."

Li Heng, the co-president of Huai'an Prefecture, wanted to say something else, but Wang Yuanshan pulled his sleeve and left the courtyard.

Li Heng followed him step by step, with a worried look on his face, and said, "Sir, what should we do in this situation now? Jie Jin didn't play his cards according to the routine at all and refused our conditions. Should we continue to pour money on him? Dirty water?”

"stupid!"

Wang Yuanshan glared at him angrily, and seeing no one around, he shouted in a low voice: "Now we can only pray that Jie Jin doesn't find out anything, otherwise, we will be the only unlucky ones."

As he spoke, the look on Jie Jin's face today came to his mind.

Wang Yuanshan had no doubt about the bone-chilling murderous intention. If he dared to make another move, he might not be able to leave Yangzhou Mansion.

This Jie Jin is simply a lunatic sent by Jiang Xinghuo.