Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 263 The Ministry of Revenue is shaking
"One, one, two, two..."
"Your subordinates are here to see the Grand Tutor."
"Ah? Ahem, ok, hello both of you, hehe..."
Xu Honggang returned the gift awkwardly and quickly walked away, leaving the two officials from the Ministry of Revenue looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Uh..." The younger official hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Well, if I heard correctly just now, the Grand Tutor seemed to be singing Eighteen...?"
"Hmm..." The older official stroked his beard and nodded calmly: "It's not like, it's that."
"Hiss~~ Da Situ is in a good mood today."
"Of course it's good! The National Salt Auction Conference, which lasted for seven days, has finally come to an end. According to the news from Nanjing, the court finally received 120 million yuan. And His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that all this money will be transferred to our Ministry of Revenue!"
"Oh my! This is incredible! Our Ministry of Revenue will be shaken immediately!"
"Yes, that's right." The elderly official breathed a sigh of relief. "Since the reign of Emperor Jiajing, for nearly a hundred years, our Ministry of Revenue has always been in deficit. We can't pay the soldiers in the border towns, and we can't pay the officials at all levels in Beijing. Whenever the court has an emergency, we have to rely on the Emperor's inner treasury. After nearly a hundred years, our Ministry of Revenue can finally stand up straight!"
"Uh...Brother Wang."
"Haha, brother, are you thinking that if we sell the salt mine, we can get enough money at once? But how are we going to live in the future?"
"Yes, I have just been assigned from the Hanlin Academy to the Ministry of Revenue to observe government affairs. There are many things I don't understand, so I hope Brother Wang can give me more guidance."
"Well, it's not like I can give you any advice. My humble brother is a top three Jinshi, and he will be a chief official at best. But my dear brother is a Shujishi, and he is destined to enter the cabinet in the future."
"No, no, I dare not. In the more than 200 years of our dynasty, there have been thousands of Shujishi, and I am afraid that there are only 100 or 200 of them. And there are also quite a few who are admitted to the cabinet as Jinshi of the third class. Anyway, I hope that my brother will give me more advice."
"Hahaha~" The official surnamed Wang, who was very comfortable with the compliment from the newcomer, stroked his beard and said, "My dear brother, you may not have paid attention to the salt mine auction regulations recently issued by Bi Maokang Nan Situ. It is clearly written that after the salt mine is sold to a private person, it will be tax-free in the first year, and taxes will have to be paid to the court starting from the second year. Moreover, the tax amount is marked at the time of the auction, which means that it is a fixed tax. Well, according to what Situ Xu told me privately that day, the various fixed taxes for the salt mines auctioned off add up to no less than 12 million yuan per year."
"Oh my! Isn't that more than the court's current annual income?"
"If we don't count the grain and other physical goods collected, and only count the money, then indeed, the salt tax alone is much more than the sum of agricultural and commercial taxes... You must know that this 12 million yuan salt tax is ten times more than the previous salt tax."
"Hiss~~Your Highness really has the Midas touch. Just a slight change to the salt tax can increase it by so much. If the land tax, head tax, business tax, etc. are changed..."
"Shut up! How can you say such a thing?" Official Wang looked around with lingering fear: "Do you think that the change in salt tax is something that everyone is happy about? For example, the Huaiyang salt merchants used to sell all kinds of salt tickets at a high price and almost didn't have to pay taxes. What about now? Reforming the salt tax has angered a lot of people, not to mention that after our Ministry of Revenue has money this year, the most important task starting next year is to rebuild the Yellow Book Library. I don't know how many people will be offended? Tell me, at this moment, how can we still think about land tax, head tax, and business tax?"
"My brother, you are right. I am the one who has been reckless. However, I think that as long as the Crown Prince is here, these things will be done sooner or later."
"Well... that's true. My dear brother, observe the government affairs in the Ministry of Revenue and stay in our Ministry of Revenue in the future. My life in the Ministry of Revenue was worse than death before, but now that I have a grandson , my life will definitely get better day by day!"
Leaving aside these two officials who were full of yearning, Xu Honggang, in a very good mood, walked into his office room with three shaky steps.
A clerk had already prepared tea for him and brought him the Yenching Daily, which had just been published that morning.
"Have you read all the newspapers? Is there anything related to our Ministry of Revenue in the newspapers today?"
"Well, Grand Master, I won't talk about the salt mine auction. As for the other things, there is one that is related to my Ministry of Revenue."
"Um?"
"The censors and inspectors of Huguang and Jiangxi petitioned on behalf of the people. The people of Huguang and Jiangxi provinces requested that they donate money to the Ministry of Revenue to rebuild the Huguang and Jiangxi warships."
"ah?"
In fact, this is all thanks to the publicity from the six major daily newspapers.
The final result of the Battle of Osaka Bay a few months ago was: On the Ming side, among the 1,200-ton main battleships of Li Guozhu's fleet, the Huguang and Jiangxi were sunk. Five 600-ton battleships sank. A total of 956 people were killed.
Yu Zigao's fleet sank seven 1,000-ton Fuchuan warships, and more than 60 smaller warships sank or were severely damaged and had to be abandoned. More than 1,800 soldiers were killed.
In terms of the results of the battle, the Japanese Yagyu Fleet sank four 1,200-ton battleships and seven of the twenty 700-ton battleships. The number of casualties was no less than 1,500.
As for the Fujido fleet, it was almost completely wiped out, with nearly 10,000 people killed.
In short, the Battle of Osaka Bay was the first real battle of the Ming Navy. Under the premise that its own losses were acceptable, it achieved great results.
In addition to the fact that Zhu Youdong was quite satisfied with the casualty ratio, what made him most satisfied was that Toyotomi Hideyori actually stood up and took the initiative to stay in Japan!
Oh, this is really great. Hideyori was already 22 years old this year, and it was difficult to change and reshape his thoughts. And Toyotomi Kunimatsu, whom Yan Siqi brought back, was only an eight-year-old child. It would be much easier to shape the worldview of such a child!
In late May, after cordially meeting with many Japanese "friends" in Beijing, including Toyotomi Kunimatsu, Sanada Yukimura, Akashi Zento, Otani Daisaku, and Chosokabe Morichika, His Royal Highness waved his hand and said: Fang Zhenghua, notify Wang Chengen in Nanjing to buy back the manor in the center of Taihu Lake that I sold to Suzhou Prefecture nine years ago. I gave it to His Royal Highness Kunimatsu.
Afterwards, Zhu Youdong wrote another personal letter to Gao Panlong: Haven't you Donglin Party members always been very confident that you can make your king as great as Yao and Shun? This Prince Kunimatsu is the future ruler of Japan. Do you dare to teach him in person? If you don't dare, then I will just tear down Donglin Academy for you!
Gao Panlong accepted the challenge as a matter of course. Not only that, he also summoned the few remaining members of the Donglin Party, such as Zou Yuanbiao, Zuo Guangdou, and Yang Lian, and rushed to Suzhou together to serve as Toyotomi Kunimatsu's teacher...
As for generals like Sanada Yukimura, ah, well, you can take turns to study in the army of my Daming. But you can only go to the so-called Nine Border Towns. Others such as the Daming Royal Military Academy and the Naval Academy, and what Henghaiwei? What Chongmingsha? Sorry, these departments do not accept international students!
That was all. Apart from giving him a manor and letting a Donglin Party member be Guo Song's teacher, Zhu Youdong gave him nothing. In his words, I am the grandson of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. There are still countless people in the Ming Dynasty struggling for food and clothing. How can I be qualified to give too much to a foreign exiled noble? The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty sacrificed so much to rescue you. I am lucky that I didn't ask you for compensation!
The above battle results, the treatment of Toyotomi Kunimatsu and others, and Zhu Youdong's words were all clearly printed in the six major daily newspapers.
After seeing and hearing such reports, most people from all over the country gave a thumbs up and praised the crown prince's benevolence and righteousness: He has saved the country from extinction!
But after all the praise, some careful people noticed: Oh, the fifteen most powerful warships of my Ming Dynasty were named after the two capitals and thirteen provinces!
So the citizens, small businessmen, and scholars in Huguang and Jiangxi were not happy: Why didn't the warships named after the other thirteen provinces sink, but only the ones named after our two provinces did? No! We can't afford to lose face! So, let's raise funds and ask the court to build two new, bigger and stronger ships, and rename them after our two provinces!
After carefully reading the relevant reports, Minister Xu also felt greatly relieved.
Henghaiwei, Kunming Town, Chongmingsha Fleet, Changsha Shipyard, and two military academies, etc., are all private property of the Crown Prince. All expenses are in the charge of a designated person appointed by the Crown Prince. Therefore, the donation to rebuild the large ship has nothing to do with the Ministry of Revenue.
However, Xu Honggang clearly felt that the collective consciousness of this country was beginning to awaken. This feeling made him feel very comfortable and his heart was a little surging.
As for what this consciousness is, Xu Honggang is still unclear. However, he believes that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must know what it is.
"Well, I have to ask your Highness for advice at the State Council meeting in three days." Thinking of this, Xu Honggang put down the newspaper and looked up: "Well, for the meeting in three days, do you require the ministries to send in the agenda they have prepared in advance?"
"It has been sent. I was going to wait until the Grand Master finished reading today's newspaper before submitting it ."
"No need, just bring it to me."
"yes."
After several years of running-in, the entire Ming Dynasty's State Council system has become increasingly mature.
A regular meeting is held every ten days. Five days before the meeting, each department must submit the agenda for the meeting to the Tongzhengsi. Three days before the meeting, the Tongzhengsi will return a document to each department, which clearly lists the agenda for the meeting.
Among these topics, some were submitted by various departments, and some were directly requested by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to prepare plans for various departments.
But today, after Xu Honggang opened the draft agenda, his originally very good mood suddenly dropped by half!
Because the first item on this agenda is: Ask the Ministry of Revenue to consider and submit a plan to increase the salaries of officials across the country.
