The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 527: The Ministry of Revenue Did Not Check

The Ministry of Justice changed its leader.

The new Shangshu Yuan Keli made a surprising move as soon as he came to power.

Not only did he not carry out a large-scale purge of officials in the Ministry of Justice, he actually added a large number of officials to the Ministry of Justice!

All the thirteen Qingli Si of the Ministry of Justice that originally had no Yuanwailang were filled, and the number of chief officers in each Qingli Si was increased from one to two.

This is equivalent to adding more than twenty positions above the sixth rank.

All the officials in the court were stunned.

Wasn’t Wanli preparing to purge the court?
It would be fine if they didn't do any cleanup, but what's the point of adding so many officials to the Ministry of Justice?
It seemed that he was not only promoting the newly-promoted imperial party, but he also promoted quite a few members of the Qingliu faction. He promoted anyone who had the ability to handle cases as recorded in the Ministry of Personnel.

This really confused Shen Yikuan, Han Yu and others.

Originally, they all thought that a crazy purge would follow, but who knew that not only was no one from the Ministry of Justice purged, but there were actually more than twenty positions above the sixth rank.

It would be fine if he was just the head of the Ministry of Justice, but the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice was of the fifth rank, and he could be sent to be the prefect, governor, or even the deputy envoy of the Ministry of Justice.

What does Wanli mean?
Why would the Ministry of Justice, the least important government office, add so many positions above the sixth rank?
This was actually not what Wanli meant, but what Yuan Keli meant.

Wanli was just going with the flow to paralyze Shen Yikuan and Han Yu.

Officials in the Ministry of Justice must be able to handle cases, so there is nothing wrong with promoting a few clean officials.

Not all the Qingliu were bad people. There were only a small group of them who really wanted to fight to the death with the emperor.

This life-and-death fight doesn't mean the winner will be decided immediately.

The struggle in the court is not a war. Once the battle is set up, the fighting will begin. He can choose to cut the Gordian knot or boil the frog in warm water.

He had chosen to cut the Gordian knot once, when he dealt with the three major families in Puzhou.

As a result, he killed a lonely one!

He hasn't yet wiped out all the remnants of the three major families in Puzhou.

So, this time he chose to boil the frog in warm water.

He dealt with them one by one, and did not touch Shen Yikuan and Han Yu, the core figures who were against him.

Because those guys have already been exposed and can't escape at all, it doesn't make much difference whether they are killed later or earlier.

What he wanted was to wipe out the roots and catch them all in one fell swoop. Last time, he first arrested Wang Chonggu, Yang Junmin and others who had been exposed, but those who had not been exposed, including their relatives and friends, all hid.

He won't make the same mistake again this time.

Another point is that Shen Yikuan, Han Yu and others did not control many powerful government offices.

He did not control any of the six ministries in the capital and the Censorate, and although he apparently only controlled the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice, he actually also controlled the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works.

Now only the Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue are left.

These two yamen were still controlled by Zhang Juzheng's former party. Although they were somewhat biased towards Donglin, they were not Han Yu's people.

In other words, his taking over of the Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue did not actually mean that he was touching the core figures who were against him.

The water in the court will not boil because of this, but he has initially gained control of the entire court power.

The more power he controlled in the court, the more difficult it would be for Shen Yikuan, Han Yu and others to turn things around. Once he completely controlled the power in the court, Shen Yikuan, Han Yu and others would be close to death.

To boil a frog in warm water, he naturally had to take down the Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue first.

So, which one will the Censorate or the Ministry of Revenue take first?

He decided to take the Ministry of Revenue first.

Because the Ministry of Revenue is generally not subject to inspection, it is no exaggeration to say that if you close your eyes and randomly arrest an official from the Ministry of Revenue, nine out of ten of them will be corrupt officials.

As for why, everyone understands.

Early in the morning at about noon, he summoned Luo Sigong to the imperial study.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he solemnly said, "Si Gong, send someone to thoroughly investigate the Ministry of Revenue, including all officials and all warehouses.

Remember, don't alert the enemy."

Why do you seem to have shifted your focus?
Previously, you asked us to investigate Shen Yikuan and Han Yu’s gang.

But now you seem to be in conflict with Zhang Juzheng's old party!

Luo Sigong couldn't understand why, but he still bowed without hesitation and said, "Your humble servant understands."

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand to signal him to leave.

Seeing this guy retreat, little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, are you going to take down the Minister of Revenue, Chen Sheng?"

There is no need to think about this, otherwise why would we go to the Ministry of Revenue to check?

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Yes, our target this time is the Minister of Revenue, Chen Sheng."

This seems a bit unnecessary.

Zhu Changxun thought about it, still a little puzzled, and said, "Father, if you want to take down Chen Sheng, why don't you just dismiss him and replace him with someone else? Why did you send the secret guards to investigate?"

This is not the way to be an emperor.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then patiently taught: "It is said in the Li Lou Chapter of Mencius that the wisdom of Li Lou and the ingenuity of Gongshu Zi, without rules and regulations, cannot make a square or a circle.

This means that no matter how powerful Li Lou and Gongshuzi are, they cannot make square or round objects without tools like ruler and square.

If we extend this, it means that if everyone does not follow the rules, the world will be in chaos.

These rules refer to the laws of a dynasty. If we emperors do not abide by the rules, will the people below also abide by the rules?

If everyone doesn't follow the laws, won't the Ming Dynasty be in chaos?
If the Minister of Revenue had not committed any crime, but the emperor dismissed him for no apparent reason, that would be against the rules.

Just think about it, wouldn’t all the officials in the court feel insecure in this situation?
The Minister of Revenue was a senior official of the second rank in the court. He was removed from his post for no apparent reason. Would other officials also be removed from their post for no apparent reason?

In other words, no matter how well they do their job, no matter whether they are just sitting there doing nothing or working hard, no matter whether they are corrupt officials or honest officials, no matter whether they are loyal and virtuous or treacherous, if one day we, the emperor, go crazy, they will be inexplicably removed.

In this situation, if you were an official, would you choose to be idle in your position or be diligent in your official duties? Would you choose to be corrupt and abuse your power or be incorruptible? Would you choose to be loyal to the emperor or act recklessly?

Since it doesn't matter whether you do a good job or a bad job, won't most officials choose to be dishonest or even corrupt and abuse their power?

This is the harm of not following the rules. If you don’t follow the rules, people below you will act recklessly.

Of course, we emperors cannot be bound by rules. We are the ones who make the rules, and we have the final say on the rules of the Ming Dynasty.

We are fully capable of formulating rules that are beneficial to our governance.

However, it is best not to break the established rules.

"The Analects of Confucius: Yao said" says, "To punish someone without teaching him is called cruelty; to punish someone who fails to change after teaching him is called the way of the king."

We emperors follow the way of the king, not break the rules and do whatever we want. Do you understand?" Oh, so being an emperor doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun thought about it carefully, then nodded slowly and said, "I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly, then pointed to the Analects on the table and said, "Let's continue where we left off."

Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun quickly opened the book and began to study seriously.

Wanli was teaching the little fellow when Li Xuancheng suddenly poked his head out and said, "Your Majesty, Guozhu is back."

This guy is finally back.

Upon hearing this, Wanli said without hesitation: "Announce."

Soon, Li Guozhu walked in quickly.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli could not help but ask, "Guozhu, have you found the gold mine in North America Xidusi?"

He was really short of money at the moment. The Beijing Army, border troops, navy, Sichuan Army, etc. added up to more than three million troops. More than three million troops looked extremely powerful, but the consumption of food and wages was also terrifying.

Originally, the major businesses in Wanshengtang could generate a considerable surplus every year, but after his crazy expansion, this surplus gradually disappeared.

In other words, the profits from the major businesses in Wanshengtang were only enough to support the food and wages of his army of more than three million, and the original surplus in the inner treasury had been almost consumed by the vigorous development of the Nurgan Regional Administration.

Now the inner treasury has a surplus of several million taels all year round. If it were the Jiajing or Longqing dynasties, it would be considered a lot for the inner treasury to have a surplus of several million taels, but now this amount of money is not enough at all.

Not to mention anything else, the Nurgan Regional Command alone can't hold on any longer.

Spring is about to arrive over there, which means that the winter food stored last year will soon be used up, and they will have to purchase food for the garrison troops over there.

The Nurgan Regional Command now has more than three million garrison households, with a total of more than 15 million men, women, old and young. The monthly grain consumption is at least 12 million dan. Even if the grain consumption of the Liaodong Regional Command is four dan for one tael of silver, it would be three million taels a month.

And, more importantly, this year he has to mobilize the garrison troops to go to the original Shuangchengwei to open up wasteland and cultivate land. That is related to whether the Jiannu can be completely encircled and wiped out.

The area over there is not small, and at least hundreds of thousands of garrison troops must be mobilized there, and I don’t know how much money and food will be needed.

Now the silver in the inner treasury is not enough to feed the existing garrison troops of Nurgan for two months, and he can no longer carry out the plan of encircling and suppressing the Jiannu.

What's more, he also wants to seize Spain's colonies. Once the war starts, no one knows how much military rewards he will get.

He is really short of money right now, and he must find a way to increase his income.

If the increase in lamp oil production can generate an additional profit of about 10 million taels per year, the Nurgan Regional Administration can barely hold on.

However, the uncle-in-law Wang Bing swallowed up all the extra lamp oil. Moreover, in order to eradicate the three major families in Puzhou completely, he could not touch the uncle-in-law Wang Bing at this time.

In other words, it is impossible for the profits of the major businesses in Wanshengtang to increase significantly in the short term, and he can only rely on the gold mines in America.

Have the gold mines in America been found?
Li Guozhu nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, we found it. There is indeed a gold mine over there, and the area of ​​the gold mine is very large. They haven't even finished exploring it yet."

Very good!
This is the benefit of having hundreds of years of experience.

If he didn't know there was a gold mine over there, it would take years, decades, or even hundreds of years for the gold mine to be discovered "accidentally" by someone.

Wanli asked impatiently, "Have you organized the mining? How much gold can you produce there in a month?"

Your Majesty, are you sounding a little anxious?
Li Guozhu said carefully: "Your Majesty, there are not enough people over there, and I dare not make the decision on my own to ask the vassal states to send people or to ask the Japanese to go to mine.

At this moment, I have mobilized 10,000 naval officers and men to mine gold, and I can only mine 100,000 taels of gold each month. I have brought back 300,000 taels of gold for you this time, which I mined in the first three months."

not enough people?

Only one hundred thousand taels a month!

These 100,000 taels may seem like a lot, but in fact, they are nothing at all. 100,000 taels is only a few tons when converted into units of later generations. In other words, they can only mine dozens of tons a year now.

He had heard that the gold mine there would become so famous in later generations that it could produce at least several hundred tons a year during its peak period.

What can these three hundred thousand taels of gold do?
Although the gold exchange rate is high at the moment, when converted into silver it is only equivalent to more than 4 million taels, which can barely allow the Nurgandusi to hold on for more than a month.

It would take their fleet at least three months to make a round trip from America, and it would most likely take four or even five months.

If the next trip takes five months, there will be a huge hole of five or six million taels of silver in the Nurgan Regional Administration alone.

Where can he find five or six million taels?
Now he can only hope that the Ministry of Revenue can fill this big hole for him. He has not spent any money from the national treasury in these years.

He couldn't remember when the food and wages of all the men and horses began to be paid by the inner treasury. After deducting this biggest expense, the Ministry of Revenue basically only had the expenses of officials' salaries left.

The salaries of Ming Dynasty officials were notoriously low. A seventh-rank county magistrate received only seven and a half dan of grain per month, a sixth-rank county magistrate received only eight dan per month, and a sixth-rank county magistrate received only ten dan per month.

Among the tens of thousands of officials in the Ming Dynasty, 90% were of the sixth rank or below. By this calculation, the monthly salary of all officials was at most 200,000 dan, and the annual salary was at most more than 2 million dan. Even if calculated at one tael of silver for one dan of grain, it would be more than 2 million taels.

When Zhang Juzheng carried out the reform, the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty had risen to more than 5 million taels a year. Now the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty has increased a lot, and the national treasury should have a surplus of at least 3 to 4 million taels every year.

Over the years, the national treasury surplus is estimated to be tens of millions of taels, which should be enough to fill the hole of five or six million taels in the Nurgan Regional Administration.

However, he could not always spend huge amounts of money from the national treasury. After all, the annual income of the national treasury was only a few million taels, which was not enough to spend.

He still had to rely on overseas income to support the huge expenditure. It was definitely not enough to mine 100,000 taels of gold in America in a month, and the navy soldiers could not be used for mining.

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then asked, "Have the Japanese slaves over there been enough? Is there any problem in opening up 20 million mu of land this year?"

There is no problem with this.

Li Guozhu nodded repeatedly and said, "The Japanese have pulled enough. When I set out on my return journey, they have already started to reclaim wasteland there. It will be no problem to reclaim 20 million mu of land this year."

That's good.

Upon hearing this, Wanli decisively said, "Then you will send another 100,000 Japanese slaves from the Dongyangdusi to mine the gold mines over there. In addition, you will also send 200,000 soldiers from the garrison camp to guard the Japanese slaves over there."

Do we still need to bring the Japanese over from the Toyodusi?
I’m afraid that Toyodusi’s land will no longer be able to be cultivated.

But that's not my business.

Li Guozhu quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "Any other questions?"

Is this asking me to go back quickly?
Li Guozhu said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the troops in the vassal states are still short of 300,000 or 400,000 sets of weapons and equipment."

Oh, forget all about that.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Weapons and equipment have already been made for them. You can take all 500,000 sets. The extra ones can be used as spares.

Have General Wang and General Lou intensify the training of the vassal states' soldiers. We will most likely start a major war next year."

Li Guozhu quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully again, then raised his hand and waved.

Li Guozhu quickly bowed and took his leave.

(End of this chapter)