jdhmnovel Chapter 504 Reverse Hair-Plucking
Chapter 504 Reverse Hair-Plucking
If it weren't for that madman Yang spreading rumors that Dengzhou Prefecture was going to build a large number of ships, some people wouldn't have been provoked into a rebellion.
Now look what's happened. Those who went mad have been forced into hard labor by someone who's truly insane, leaving the court with a huge mess to clean up.
Officials were re-selected and reassigned.
To resettle the affected people.
To restore livelihoods and schools in these affected areas.
Preparations were made for spring plowing in the fifth year of the Hongwu reign.
A whole host of messy and troublesome matters were piled up on the heads of the Secretariat, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Revenue.
Even the Censorate was not spared.
Now Zhu Biao actually wants the Emperor Zhu to come back, and then he himself goes to Dengzhou Prefecture to enjoy himself.
dream!
Before I retire and return to my hometown, Zhu Biao won't have an easy time either!
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Your Highness, it's impossible for the ships for the Imperial Son-in-Law to be built in just a few months. However, these few months are enough time for His Majesty and the Empress to take the Imperial Son-in-Law on a northern tour and finalize the port arrangements for Beiping and even Liaodong."
"His Majesty and His Majesty will naturally return to the capital at that time."
"It would be fitting for Your Highness to make another inspection tour of Beiping."
Liu Bowen glanced at Li Shanchang.
What's wrong with that old rascal today? Why is he so unreliable?
Does it matter what Zhu Biao thinks?
Important my ass!
Even if Zhu Biao was the executive vice emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he was still ultimately a vice emperor.
The real power holders of the Ming Dynasty were still far away in Dengzhou Prefecture.
Therefore, what Zhu Biao thinks is completely unimportant.
What matters is what the real leaders of the Ming Dynasty thought.
Putting everything else aside, did the person in charge truly approve of Nanjing as the capital of the Ming Dynasty?
In the past, this might have been acceptable.
But after the Plowshare Case, the Sun Gupu Rebellion Case, and the Blank Seal Case, does that person in charge still have any confidence in his heart?
Especially this time, they actually managed to stir up several rebellions again.
Thinking of this, Liu Bowen couldn't help but shake his head.
stupid.
That's incredibly stupid.
With the country now at peace, it is the perfect time for the people to recuperate and rebuild their lives.
After all, people who raise pigs and sheep in rural areas know that they should slaughter the pigs and sheep after they have fattened up.
However, those scoundrels who had been indulging in their own way since the Song Dynasty did not care about the lives of ordinary people at all; they even wished they could squeeze the last drop of blood from the people.
What's even more infuriating is that these bastards are not only crude in their methods, but also lack common sense. They went completely mad after being provoked by Yang the Madman.
Doesn't this mean forcing Emperor Zhu to prepare to move the capital?
After shaking his head slightly again, Liu Bowen couldn't help but sigh and said, "Your Highness, please wait patiently. I have a feeling that Your Majesty's northern tour this time is probably not just about visiting the border markets and Beiping."
Zhu Biao grunted in response with a dark expression, then picked up a letter from the table and had it delivered to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen.
“The Duke of Gonghe Chengyi of Korea should first read this letter.”
"The salt administration... will probably have to be changed."
"The Salt Tax Commissioner's Office, the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office, and the Maritime Trade Commissioner's Office will probably all have to be changed."
Li Shanchang took the letter, glanced at it a few times, and then handed it to Liu Bowen without saying a word.
Let's change it.
If everything written in this letter can be implemented, then reform of the salt administration will be imperative.
Putting everything else aside, the fact that he was able to ensure that all the people in the country could afford salt, and that they could afford cheap refined salt, during his term of office is enough for him to be remembered in history.
On second thought, Li Shanchang felt that he had already met the criteria for being remembered in history.
During my term, I presided over the pilot program of making Ningyang County a separate municipality, which can be considered a historical precedent. This should be recorded in the history books, right?
During my tenure, I laid out the entire system of community schools, county schools, and prefectural schools in the Ming Dynasty, and dismantled the Imperial Academy. This should be recorded in the history books, right?
Now, with the addition of affordable refined salt that all people can afford, history will surely record this again.
In total, it amounts to three or even more lines of content.
Shouldn't we make a biography of the Korean Duke for him?
The only downside is that this content always revolves around that hateful bastard.
Damn it, I, the dignified Left Chancellor, am being bossed around by a fourth-rank prefect. Where can I find justice?
Just as Li Shanchang was feeling both pleased and angry, Liu Bowen suddenly chuckled and said, "Your Highness, I believe that the salt administration is a simple matter."
Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback and asked, "Easy? What do you mean?"
Liu Bowen stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Your Highness, Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture both have existing salt taxes."
"The county confiscates the county's property, and the prefecture confiscates the prefecture's property
"The salt tax of the prefecture is expanded to be the Salt Tax Office of the Provincial Administration Commission."
"As for the imperial court... let the prince consort write a memorial, and then revise the Salt Tax Bureau based on the memorial."
Eh?
What a great idea!
Zhu Biao suddenly became happy.
During this period, I was the one being bossed around, right?
Asking your brother-in-law to write a memorial is tantamount to ordering him around, right?
Although it means losing a pound of dragon balls, what's the big deal about a pound of dragon balls? I can always find a few pounds by searching my father's private stash later.
Thinking of this, Zhu Biao simply picked up another memorial and had it handed to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen.
"Let's take another look at this memorial."
"Please build a university in Denzhou."
"I reckon that since my brother-in-law submitted this memorial, it means he must have discussed it with my father."
"but……"
Zhu Biao smiled and said, "However, my father most likely did not agree to the requests for money or people. Otherwise, he would not have written a request to build Dengzhou University, but rather a request to allocate funds and provisions for teachers."
Li Shanchang thought to himself, "What are you even guessing?"
Don't you even look at the state of the national treasury right now? Even if your father wanted to allocate money and supplies and hire teachers for Yang the Madman, where would he get the money and supplies from?
It's infuriating, really.
In the present Ming Dynasty, the garrison troops are not short of money.
Local governments were not short of money.
Even Emperor Zhu's private treasury might not be short of money.
The only problem is that the national treasury is desperately short of money.
According to Yang Siyi, the Minister of Revenue, the national treasury was so empty that rats could run through it.
Therefore, if Emperor Zhu wanted to allocate funds and provisions to Dengzhou, the Ministry of Revenue would definitely not take money from the imperial treasury unless it used funds from the imperial treasury.
Given Emperor Zhu's consistent stinginess, it would be more likely that he would go to Dengzhou to rob some money and grain!
Li Shanchang simply curled his lip and said, "Your Highness, I have been pondering this matter repeatedly and have discovered something rather interesting."
Zhu Biao, full of curiosity, gave an "oh" and asked, "What is it?"
Li Shanchang said, "Most of the memorials submitted by the Imperial Son-in-Law mention various matters, but rarely do they mention money and grain."
"In other words, Your Highness can agree to things like requesting the construction of Dengzhou University, and leave the rest to the Prince Consort."
"The prince consort must have already made plans for things like money, provisions, and teachers."
Liu Bowen glanced at Li Shanchang and couldn't help but shout "Holy crap!" several times in his mind.
I have a feeling that Li Shanchang, that old scoundrel, is playing a very new kind of reverse exploitation.