Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 248: Internal Affairs also needs to be reduced
Success is never a matter of luck. The only way for a time traveler with ordinary qualifications to succeed is to work very hard.
The New Year's State Council meeting always lasts a very long time because it involves the summary of the previous year and the New Year's plan, basically taking a day or even longer.
Even after the long and content-rich meeting during the day, Zhu Youdong still couldn't rest.
Cao Huachun, Cao Sanxi, Wei Zhongxian, Tian Ergeng, Cao Wenzhao, Zhang Shize, Li Shizhong and Li Chunzhong continued to stay in Nanhua Palace, waiting for Zhu Youdong's private talks one by one.
It can be said that these eight people, plus Wang Chengen and Liu Zhaosun who were sent out, as well as Yuan Keli who guarded Nanjing, Xiong Tingbi in Yunnan, and Sun Chengzong in Fujian, are Zhu Youdong's core team.
Even though Zhu Youdong's personal eunuch Guan Zhenghua has now been appointed, he can only serve as a gatekeeper because he has been with Zhu Youdong for too short a time and cannot enter the venue.
The first person to enter the secret room was Cao Sanxi.
"Your Highness, last year, after deducting dividends from your various businesses, the actual profit was 7.3 million yuan. Among them, 3.7 million yuan was used to subsidize the Beijing Ministry of Revenue, 850,000 yuan was used to subsidize Henghaiwei and Kunming Town (formerly Kuandianwei), 1.2 million yuan was used to subsidize Fangshan Laboratory and Fangshan School, 450,000 yuan was used to subsidize Chongming Sand Naval Forces, 100,000 yuan was used to subsidize Funing Town Naval Forces, and 350,000 yuan was used to subsidize Changsha Shipyard. Therefore, after the Spring Festival this year, I can only deposit 650,000 yuan into your personal account at the Beijing branch."
"watt?!"
"What did you say, Your Highness?"
"No, nothing. Hiss~~ Sanxi, if you calculate it this way, I'm afraid the profit I get in the end is not as much as your personal dividend, right?"
"According to your Highness's share distribution principle, I can get about 800,000 yuan in dividends every year. So, at least this year, my account has indeed grown more than your Highness's."
"Tsk~~ This is really annoying. Sanxi, how much is left in my account?"
"After calculating the surplus over the years, there is still 6.03 million yuan."
"Oh, it's not bad." After taking a breath, Zhu Youdong gritted his teeth again: "This disappointing Ministry of Revenue! It's a huge loss every year! The 3.7 million yuan I subsidized last year was mainly for the salaries of the census team members, work expenses and the cost of making ID cards. The other thing is to pay the border troops... Although I don't need to subsidize this amount this year, I have to start rebuilding the Yellow Book this year! I have decided that all the paper for making the Yellow Book will be provided by the paper mill under the Fangshan Materials Laboratory. I can't say for sure, I will lose money this year!"
"Your Highness, only if the Yellow Book is rebuilt can we have the possibility of completely reforming the country's fiscal and taxation system. I have to ask you to hold on for a few more years. If it really doesn't work, I have nearly 2 million yuan in savings in my hand, thanks to your patronage, and I can take it all out."
"No, Sanxi, your work is worth the money. If the monarch doesn't have money, he can ask his subjects for it. There's nothing wrong with us being close to each other. But what do other subjects think? You have to set an example. As long as you work hard and create value for the country, you can safely get a high salary and enjoy it comfortably."
"Thank you, Your Highness. I would also like to remind Your Highness that we still have a sum of money that has not been credited to our account."
"You mean the military purchase from the Toyotomi family?"
"Yes, the money is still with Governor Yuan in Nanjing."
"It doesn't matter. This money is for the navy. It wasn't used last year, but it will definitely be used this year. Keep it in Nanjing first. After the war over there, rewards, pensions, resettlement and so on will all be paid from this money. Any remaining money will be transferred to the account in Beijing."
"Your Highness, are you saying that we still have to fight a war in Japan?"
"Of course, that's the Silver Country. Even though we have a lot of things going on in our country right now and can't intervene fully, we must bring one of the descendants of the Toyotomi family out to keep the means for us to intervene in Japan in the future. "
"Yes, I understand. Your Highness, I have nothing else to do for the time being."
"Okay, you go back and rest, and let Wei Zhongxian come in."
"yes."
Wei Zhongxian, who obtained the power of the Imperial Palace Procuratorate through the Hook-kissing Case, is probably the most powerful eunuch in the entire Imperial Palace at this moment.
The reason why the Silijian had the greatest power in the past was because it had the power to approve documents. But after Zhu Youdong became regent, the State Council system not only weakened the power of the cabinet, but also reduced the power of the Silijian.
The Imperial Horse Supervisor was supposed to be in control of the military power, but when the Henghai Guards entered the capital en masse and doubled their army, and their military pay was still paid by the Crown Prince himself, the status of the Imperial Horse Supervisor plummeted.
As for the East Factory, Wang Kun and Zhu Youdong had a decent relationship, but it was far inferior to the relationship between Tian Ergeng and Zhu Youdong. Therefore, the power of the East Factory was not as strong as before.
Therefore, after restoring all the powers that Zheng He had when he was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, Wei Zhongxian was actually already the number one eunuch in terms of actual power.
However, despite his great power, the task that Zhu Youdong recently assigned to Lao Wei still made Lao Wei feel a headache.
"This servant greets the young master."
"We, the master and the servant, don't need these empty formalities. Come on, I asked you to count the number of people in the palace. Have you done it?"
"Yes, after more than half a year of statistics, the data I finally confirmed is as follows: there are more than 1,700 palace maids and more than 2,300 eunuchs serving the emperor, the young master, and the nobles in the palace and the Western Garden. There are more than 15,800 eunuchs and palace maids engaged in various matters such as construction, water transportation, purchasing, and laundry in the imperial city. In addition, there are more than 4,200 palace maids and more than 23,000 eunuchs in the entire palace . In addition, there are many craftsmen in the 24 government offices of the palace, such as printing, warehouses, firearms manufacturing, etc., with a total of about 72,000 people."
"Hiss~ Why are there so many?"
"Young Master, the number of craftsmen here is not just from Beijing. Weavers from Nanjing and Chengdu, and porcelain craftsmen from Jingdezhen are all included."
This is the evil consequence brought about by the evil feudal imperial power: you have to do everything yourself, and the result is inevitably more and more employees, lower and lower efficiency, and then everyone gets less and less money.
But in general, this number of people is indeed not a small number, but it is much less than what Kang Mazi later said, that there were 9,000 palace maids and 100,000 eunuchs in the Forbidden City alone in the Ming Dynasty.
One hundred thousand eunuchs? The Forbidden City later became a popular tourist attraction. During the peak season, only 40,000 people were allowed to visit the Forbidden City every day, and it was crowded. One hundred thousand eunuchs? If everyone stayed in there 24 hours a day, how crowded would the Forbidden City be?
"With so many people, how much does it cost each year?"
"My dear, as for grain, the palace directly transfers it from the Ministry of Revenue, so it is definitely enough. As for money, it was 4.2 million taels the year before last, and 4.8 million last year."
"So much money?"
"Yes, young master. The annual income from gold and silver and the imperial farm can cover about half of this cost. The remaining half can only be earned by selling products in the factories under the twenty-four government offices."
In addition to collecting taxes in cash, the Ming Dynasty also collected taxes in kind every year, of which grain alone amounted to more than 20 million dan, so at least the imperial palace had no shortage of grain. But money...
Let's do the math. The palace maids, eunuchs, and craftsmen surrounding the emperor, his sons and grandsons, and the concubines totaled nearly 100,000 people. The total annual expenditure was 4.8 million yuan. Of this, the emperor's family is half. The rest of the people spent 2.4 million yuan a year. On average, it was 24 yuan a year for each person.
On the surface, it seems good. There is no need to worry about food, and there is an income of two yuan per month, which is the same treatment as the new recruits in Henghaiwei.
But in fact, this is the average salary. And everyone knows what the average salary is. Can you expect a eunuch and a young eunuch who has just entered the palace to get the same salary?
"Very good, I understand the personnel composition of the palace. Now, I will give you a new task."
"Yes, please give me your instructions, Master."
"First, separate as many craftsmen as possible from the Imperial Palace. Those that should be returned to the Ministry of Works should be returned to the Ministry of Works, and the rest will be up to Fangshan to see if they want them. If they are really bad, we will give them a sum of money to make them go."
"Young Master?"
"Zhongxian, I just roughly calculated that the monthly salary of a low-ranking eunuch or palace maid would not be more than one silver coin, right?"
"Of course not. Before I was promoted by you, I only had a tiny bit of money, except for free meals and four sets of clothes every year."
"So, if the eunuchs and palace maids are so miserable, wouldn't the peripheral craftsmen be even more miserable? What can such craftsmen make? In the past, they could force sales because the factory was in the palace, but now there is Fangshan Grocery Store... Can the factories in the palace still make money? Let's divest them. So many craftsmen, if they leave the palace, will only create greater value."
"Yes, I understand. But Master, after the factory is divested, what will be the expenditure of the palace?"
"This is the second step I want to talk about. Slowly reduce the number of eunuchs. Especially those outside the palace, gradually reduce them. In the future, it will be enough to keep 4,000 to 5,000 eunuchs and palace maids in the palace."
"Young Master, if we do this, wouldn't it make all the departments that serve the royal family..."
"It doesn't matter. In the future, we can buy services for these things and seek partners from the public. Zhongxian, I believe in you, but don't you think there are too many people in the palace now, and the composition is too mixed? There are too many eunuchs, not only are they worthless, but they are also easy to be annoying. Not only will it consume a lot of national funds, but even the safety of the royal family cannot be guaranteed. I have discussed with Grandpa Huang that we will cut staff, only those outside the palace. In this way, the nobles in the palace will not lack people to serve, and the efficiency will be doubled. The monthly salary of the eunuchs and palace maids who stay will also increase a lot... In this way, if some traitors want to bribe the eunuchs to harm me, they will at least have to pay some silver dollars."
"...Yes, I was promoted by you. If it weren't for you, I would be a street sweeper. So, as long as it's something you ask me to do, I will do it for you even if it makes the whole palace jealous. Please rest assured, within one year, I will follow your request and reduce the number of eunuchs in the country to less than 5,000."
"You are wrong. I am not in a hurry for this matter. Take your time and try to reduce the number to less than 5,000 within five to ten years. I don't want to reduce it too quickly or be killed by the eunuchs one night."
"I am terrified. Please rest assured, Master. I will take my time in this matter."
