Chapter 297: Difficult State Affairs
"Is Wei Banban confident about collecting taxes next year?" Emperor Tianqi asked this question in response to Nan Juyi's words, and then mentioned the issue of taxes again.

Wei Zhongxian quickly replied: "Your Majesty, I have made arrangements. It is estimated that the tax will increase by at least 30% next year. In addition, I have also sent more capable people to trade with Haojing, but..."

At this point, Wei Zhongxian hesitated for a moment before continuing, "But right now, the war in Fujian has not been resolved, and the red-haired barbarians have occupied Penghu, so Haojing has been somewhat affected."

Emperor Tianqi nodded silently. Wei Zhongxian's words touched his heart. The reason why he urged Nan Juyi to resolve the war in Fujian as soon as possible was not only because the Dutch were good at starting wars, but also because of the trade of trench mirrors.

Haojing is Macau. In the 32nd year of Jiajing, the Portuguese began to land in Haojing and had been seeking formal residency rights in Haojing, but the Ming Dynasty never agreed to this. Until now, Haojing is still under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty government.

However, considering the convenience of foreign trade, the Ming Dynasty still set aside a trading area for the Portuguese in Haojing. The area was not large and there were many restrictions, but this place actually became an important transit point for trade between Westerners and the Ming Dynasty.

Since the Jiajing period, the Ming Dynasty began to trade with Western countries through the Channel, including transit trade with Japan, exporting large quantities of tea, silk, porcelain, lacquerware, cotton, sugar, pearls, rouge and powder, etc. overseas every year.

A large amount of goods flowed out of Haojing, which also brought huge profits to the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, since the 28th year of Wanli, the amount of silver flowing into the Ming Dynasty from Haojing every year was as high as 2 million taels. After the route between Haojing and Japan was opened, the amount of silver flowing into the Ming Dynasty from Japan through Haojing every year was as high as 4.5 million taels. The total amount of the two is huge.

However, of the influx of so much silver, only a small amount actually fell into the hands of the court. Most of it was taken away by nobles, civil servants and their local agents. Although the court set up a customs in Haojing, this customs was almost equivalent to a mere formality. In the first year of the Tianqi reign, the court received only a few thousand taels of silver from Macau, which was almost a drop in the bucket compared to the large amount of trade and the huge amount of silver inflow.

Tianqi discovered this problem soon after he ascended the throne. Coupled with the unsuccessful war in Liaodong, Emperor Tianqi was extremely short of money. Relying on normal taxes from the court, the finances were in deficit every year. Officials in the court did not consider how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, but instead kept their eyes on the emperor's private money. After being fooled once, Emperor Tianqi came to his senses and began to think about ways to solve the problem.

For this reason, Emperor Tianqi began to use Wei Zhongxian, on the one hand to use Wei Zhongxian to fight with the Donglin Party, and on the other hand to let Wei Zhongxian help him make money. Wei Zhongxian was a good servant. He took advantage of the tax clearance proposal put forward by the Ministry of Revenue and began to help Emperor Tianqi control taxes in various places, especially taxes and commercial taxes in Jiangnan.

Under Wei Zhongxian's promotion, the effect was very significant. This year alone, the court's tax revenue was much higher than before, which made the Emperor Tianqi, who had been troubled by financial problems, feel relieved. But this was not enough. Relying on local taxes and commercial taxes in Jiangnan still could not meet the expenditure. Therefore, Wei Zhongxian set his sights on Haojing. After investigating and learning about Haojing's overseas trade, Wei Zhongxian immediately reported to Emperor Tianqi. After learning about it, Emperor Tianqi also attached great importance to it. He not only gave Wei Zhongxian the right to operate the customs of Haojing, but also instructed Wei Zhongxian to organize people to directly intervene in overseas trade.

In fact, Emperor Tianqi was not the first emperor to do this in the Ming Dynasty. As early as the late Jiajing period, Emperor Jiajing did the same to solve financial problems.

At that time, the government was also in deficit, and with the serious Japanese invasion in the Jiangnan area, the court, in order to ease the financial situation, sent eunuchs from the palace to local areas to preside over foreign trade, thus solving the problem of officials' salaries and military expenses.

It is common sense for Emperor Tianqi to do so now. If Emperor Jiajing can do it, Emperor Tianqi can do it as well. What's more, he has an extremely capable Wei Zhongxian in his hand.

"You need to pay attention to the trench mirror, but don't worry about the war in Fujian. My order to Nan Juyi today is to urge him to send troops as soon as possible. Once the red-haired barbarians are driven out of Penghu, they will no longer be a threat. You can tell your subordinates to make every effort to increase the trade share and get more money for me."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wei Zhongxian showed an expression of sudden enlightenment after hearing this, and immediately flattered him.

Even though he knew that Wei Zhongxian was flattering him, Emperor Tianqi still showed an expression of satisfaction. Who wouldn't like to hear such nice words? The emperor is also a human being. Besides, Wei Zhongxian was very good at flattering and his words were also smooth. Emperor Tianqi was very happy to hear this.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not..." Wei Zhongxian asked after seeing that Emperor Tianqi seemed to enjoy his flattery.

"Tell me, what is it that you need my support for? Have the Donglin Party impeached you again?" Emperor Tianqi asked with a smile. As Wei Zhongxian's power grew, the conflict between him and the Donglin Party became more intense. Now the two sides were almost irreconcilable.

Now the Donglin Party is still powerful, but Wei Zhongxian is not a pushover. Relying on the favor of Emperor Tianqi, he has won over many people in the court. These people are basically members of other parties who were suppressed by the Donglin Party, or officials who were impeached or even lost their jobs because of the Donglin Party. Wei Zhongxian accepted all these people. As long as they could be used for his own purposes, he would basically help them. After a few times, the officials in the court were not stupid. Those officials who were at odds with the Donglin Party or were suppressed began to gather around Wei Zhongxian, which not only strengthened Wei Zhongxian's strength, but also formed a new political group to start against the Donglin Party. Because this group was led by Wei Zhongxian, it was also called the "Eunuch Party" by the Donglin Party.

Emperor Tianqi was happy to see this situation. He used Wei Zhongxian to target the Donglin Party and seize power from them. Even though Wei Zhongxian was powerful, he was still the emperor's slave. The one who really controlled Wei Zhongxian's life and death was not someone else, but Emperor Tianqi.

The so-called Eunuch Party is nothing more than a label that the Donglin Party put on Wei Zhongxian and others, but in fact the Eunuch Party should be the Emperor's Party, because Wei Zhongxian was the knife in the hands of Emperor Tianqi, and the handle of the knife was always on the side of Emperor Tianqi, and everything he did was carried out under the instruction or acquiescence of Emperor Tianqi.

"Your Majesty, I would never be able to repay you for your concern for me, I am truly grateful and in tears..." Upon hearing Emperor Tianqi's question, Wei Zhongxian burst into tears. He raised his hands to wipe his tears, knelt down and kowtowed to Emperor Tianqi.

"Get up, get up. You are a person of status now. Why do you have to act like this in front of me? You are my man and you work for me. I know your loyalty." The Emperor Tianqi was also moved by this. No matter how outsiders said that Wei Zhongxian was arrogant, in the eyes of the Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian was the most loyal servant. Moreover, if Wei Zhongxian was not arrogant, how could he deal with the Donglin Party? You can't let a good man do such a thing, right?
After bowing to the Emperor Tianqi again, Wei Zhongxian got up from the ground and said, "Your Majesty works hard for the country every day. Seeing that Your Majesty has lost a lot of weight these days, I feel very uncomfortable. The officials in the court are just sitting there doing nothing but not being able to relieve Your Majesty's worries. Even the smallest things need Your Majesty to do them personally. I am incompetent. Sometimes I think in my heart that I wish I could just die..."

As he spoke, Wei Zhongxian could not help shedding tears, and the Emperor Tianqi was moved by his sincere words.

Wei Zhongxian was right. It was extremely difficult to get anything done in the court. Although there was a cabinet, it was now controlled by the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party members were all big talkers but could do nothing. What was even more hateful was that once others wanted to do something, the Donglin Party did not support them but instead attacked them, turning normal matters into party disputes, and there was no way to get anything done.

The Emperor Tianqi was extremely disgusted with the Donglin Party, but as an emperor he could do nothing about it. Wei Zhongxian was his tool to fight for power with the Donglin Party, but at present Wei Zhongxian had not yet overwhelmed the Donglin Party. Facing the Donglin Party's counterattack, it was not easy for Wei Zhongxian to rely on himself to stand firm even though he was shaky, and even counterattack from time to time.

What Wei Zhongxian said was absolutely correct. It was too hard for him to be an emperor. He had to worry about internal and external troubles and was busy with state affairs every day. If it were not for Wei Zhongxian's help, he would be an emperor in name only. It was really too difficult.

Thinking of this, Emperor Tianqi couldn't help but feel emotional, and his eyes softened when he looked at Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian made a long speech, which resonated with Emperor Tianqi. While Emperor Tianqi was expressing his emotion, Wei Zhongxian wiped his tears and secretly glanced at the emperor. Seeing that the emperor's emotions had almost subsided, he said what he wanted to say.

Wei Zhongxian said to Emperor Tianqi that since the emperor had issued an edict to Nan Juyi, asking him to resolve the war in Fujian as soon as possible, once the war in Fujian was settled, there would be no worries about the trench mirror trade, and the court would be able to gain a lot of profits to ease the finances.

However, Wei Zhongxian thought that this alone was not enough. At present, the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty had only slightly improved, and had not changed radically. The key reason for this problem was that the Ming Dynasty's military expenditure was too high. Since the Battle of Sarhu, the Ming Dynasty had suffered repeated defeats in Liaodong. Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen had failed to live up to the emperor's expectations, resulting in the loss of all the land east of Shanhaiguan.

The military expenditure in Liaodong is now extremely huge. As long as the Jiannu in Liaodong is not pacified, the military expenditure will remain high and the finances of the Ming Dynasty will never be truly improved.

Wei Zhongxian believed that although the situation in Liaodong had stabilized after Sun Chengzong went there, the cost of Sun Chengzong's military spending in Liaodong was too high. This was not only related to the normal military expenditure in Liaodong, but also to the strategy Sun Chengzong implemented in Liaodong.

Sun Chengzong's current strategic arrangement is to advance step by step cautiously and use city building as strongholds to steadily advance. Although there are some effects, the expenses of city building now account for nearly half of Liaodong's military expenditure. Moreover, according to Sun Chengzong's plan, once it is fully implemented, the cost will be really terrifying.

Wei Zhongxian calculated that the military expenditure in Liaodong alone, including the expenditure on building the city, would reach 7 million taels next year. Even if Wei Zhongxian tried to find ways to raise money, it would be difficult to meet such a huge expenditure. Moreover, this was only one year's expenditure. If Sun Chengzong's plan was implemented, the expenditure in Liaodong would be a bottomless pit. By then, the Ming Dynasty's finances would collapse before the Liaodong Jiannu was dragged down.

(End of this chapter)

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