jdhmnovel Chapter 508 Could it be that Empress Ma is giving him some guidance?
Chapter 508 Could it be that Empress Ma is giving him some guidance?
This bastard has a brain, but not much.
Emperor Zhu glanced at Yang Shaofeng sideways and sneered, "Let me ask you a few questions."
Yang Shaofeng replied confidently, "Father-in-law, please ask whatever you wish, I will answer to the best of my knowledge."
Emperor Zhu snorted and said, "I'm asking you, what does it have to do with the Hangzhou prefect whether pre-rain Longjing tea can be sold at the market, and what price it can fetch after it's sold there?"
"What price can osmanthus black tea fetch, and what does that have to do with the prefect of Yingtian?"
"What do the other prefectures have to do with whether they have any local specialties, whether they can enter the market, and whether they can sell at a high price? What does that have to do with the provincial governor, prefect, magistrate, and county magistrate?"
Ok?
Yang Shaofeng looked at Emperor Zhu with suspicion and asked, "Is it alright?"
"How could it be unrelated?"
"If they enter the market and sell at a high price, ordinary people can make money, and these officials can also make money and even get promoted. Is that what you call having no connections?"
Isn't this pure nonsense?
Look at the officials of later generations. Whether they were honest or corrupt, which one dared to slack off in attracting investment?
This is a very serious matter that involves official positions!
Furthermore, being able to secure a high price for Longjing tea before the rains at the border markets was not just a trivial matter; it also affected whether officials could earn a place in the history books.
Even if it doesn't get a line in the History of Ming, it can at least get a few lines in the local gazetteer, right?
Does this mean that the officials don't even care about this?
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback, but then he realized what was happening.
"You mean, linking local financial and grain statistics to official positions?"
"Are officials who can help local areas and people make more money promoted?"
Emperor Zhu pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "It's not impossible."
"The problem is, how do you calculate this?"
"How much money is too much?"
"Local funds and grain are easy to handle; the county and government treasuries can simply take inventory."
"But how can we define an improvement in the money earned by ordinary people?"
"This standard is not easy to set."
Emperor Zhu smacked his lips and glanced at Yang Shaofeng again: "Most importantly, those officials are no pushovers either. If you give them a loophole to make money, they'll dare to tear the whole net apart."
"Oh, you're an exception."
"After all, you were able to live in seclusion to the point of almost starving to death, so you can't be treated like a normal official."
No.
What's wrong with this old man?
Why is this involving personal attacks?
Also, who told you that I almost starved to death while living in seclusion?
That was something I made up, understand?
What right do you, a beggar son-in-law who came from a cowherd background, have to mock me?
Yang Shaofeng grew increasingly annoyed and snorted coldly, saying, "It seems my father-in-law has misunderstood again."
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback and asked, "What's missing?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "I certainly can't be judged by the standards of a normal official, but the Duke of Han and the Earl of Chengyi are normal officials, aren't they?"
"Even if the Duke of Han and the Earl of Chengyi don't count, surely the officials of the Ministry of Revenue should count, right?"
"It's definitely not right to have a carpenter study economics, but it's absolutely safe to have an official who studies money and grain do it."
"I'll just mention a few reference standards here."
"For example, the total output value of a county is calculated by including all the land, workshops, shops and so on in the county, and compiling statistics on their existing data."
"We'll do another statistic in the second year to see if it has increased or decreased."
“Taking Ningyang County as an example, if Ningyang County’s total output value was ten million strings of cash in the third year of Hongwu’s reign and fifteen million strings of cash in the fourth year of Hongwu’s reign, then it means that it was growing and there was generally no problem.”
"If it has become eight million strings of cash, then there is a problem. We should do a detailed comparison between the data from the fourth year of Hongwu's reign and the data from the third year of Hongwu's reign to see which item is wrong, and then have someone specifically check it. Wouldn't that reveal the problem?"
"Take the road mileage in a county for example. It's normal for this to increase, and it's not unusual for it to remain the same, but if it regresses, there is definitely a problem."
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement and pressed further, "What about the officials and gentry?"
"To put it simply, these people have brains, ideas, and skills, but they have no conscience."
“If these people discover that setting up workshops can make money and get them promoted, they will desperately seize land to set up workshops.”
"Won't it be the ordinary people who suffer in the end?"
See, I told you he was a beggar son-in-law who came from a cowherd background?
Can't you even figure out such a simple question?
"The red line for arable land."
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "Suppose a county has 10,000 people and it takes 150,000 mu of land to feed them. Then the county must reserve at least 150,000 mu of land as arable land and not allow it to be used for other purposes."
“The red line drawn in the Great Ming Code means that if you step on it, you will lose your head.”
"The officials are greedy, not stupid."
"Of course, there is another problem."
"That is, some provinces are suitable for setting up workshops and the like, while others are suitable for farming."
“It is not easy to draw the red line for a county. The entire imperial court determines the red line for arable land based on the existing population, and then determines the red line for each province based on the different conditions of each province. Each province then determines the red line for each prefecture and county based on the actual situation.”
"Those who offend the local officials are the provincial governors and even the prefects. Even the county magistrates may offend the villages and communities, but the final gains can belong to the imperial court and all the people."
If it belongs to all the people, then it is the same as belonging to our Great Ming Emperor.
This approach seems reliable.
It's tough on Brother Shan and Mr. Qingtian.
Emperor Zhu silently felt sorry for Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen for two seconds, then smiled and said, "Since that's the case, then write a memorial for us, and we'll see what's going on."
After a slight pause, Emperor Zhu added, "In addition, we plan to entrust this matter to the Duke of Han and the Earl of Chengyi, and then have Zhou Jingxin be responsible for the final review."
WTF?
Yang Shaofeng felt extremely uncomfortable as soon as he heard the name Zhou Jingxin.
Damn it, there are hardly any good people in Ningyang County to begin with, and there isn't a single good person in the county school.
Those students from Ningyang County, led by Zhou Jingxin, are all inhuman. Whenever they encounter a problem they can't solve, they write to me, the official. In the end, it's me who suffers and loses my hair.
No, something's not right in a good way.
Zhu Chongba, that old tyrant, is actually a hammer. He sees everything as a nail. His only method is to smash it hard. When did this old tyrant become so smart that he could actually think of using Zhou Jingxin and the others to use me?
Could it be that Empress Ma is behind this?