Chapter 926 Carrot
To be honest, whether humans evolved from apes or were created by the Creator, even the top scientists cannot give a convincing answer.
If you say that humans evolved from apes, then as their relatives, it is not surprising that apes, although not evolved into humans, have higher IQs, right?
But for thousands of years, humans are humans, and apes are still apes. Humans have evolved from slash-and-burn farming to flying, while apes are still catching lice in trees.
Theology tells us that there is a Creator in this world.
But if the Creator appeared in front of Lu Song at this moment, he would beg the Creator to let him go back to more than ten years ago.
That year he was transferred to the Ministry of Households.
He swore that if he could go back ten years, he would rather go to the deserted place of Taichang Temple than come to the Ministry of Revenue.
"Money and food!"
Looking at the documents urging for money and grain, Lu Song couldn't help but cover his forehead and groan.
From the beginning of the existence of tribes, financial management has been a top priority.
The person who manages finances is also called the God of Wealth.
But this God of Wealth is in a tight spot most of the time.
This is the case with the current Ministry of Revenue.
Faced with official documents demanding money and grain from everywhere, Lu Song, the God of Wealth, wished he could faint immediately and stay unconscious until after the New Year's Day.
"uncle."
Lu Ping came in. "Those people are making a fuss."
"I'm not at peace here either." Lu Song pointed at the official documents.
Lu Ping said: "Chang Wei Bo borrowed the Ministry of Revenue to receive these dignitaries, hoping to use your uncle's power to suppress them. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money and grain..."
"Chang Wei Bo wants to let me and the Ministry of Revenue see the greedy faces of those dignitaries. His purpose..." Lu Song stroked his beard, with a mocking look in his eyes, "They are greedy and insatiable, and the Ministry of Revenue hates them. Chang Wei Bo wants to use this incident to win over the Ministry of Revenue."
"Take sides?"
"Cleaning up the land and population, suppressing the powerful, all of this is closely related to my Ministry of Revenue. If these things are accomplished, my Ministry of Revenue will benefit the most. The Ministry of Revenue should be aware of this. If so, they will naturally stand with him."
"This is an open conspiracy!"
"It's a double-edged sword." Lu Song scratched his head, feeling deeply moved. "I appreciate your kindness, but I won't sign a surrender agreement. So, let him face the headaches of those powerful people alone."
Lu Ping said with a smile: "Those powerful people are not easy to deal with. I'm afraid that it will be difficult for Chang Wei Bo to get away with it today!"
"There must be a way to calm their anger. Long Wilbur came here today and made himself a target. Let him vent his anger. Then we can slowly deal with it. Many old ministers cannot do this."
Lu Song sighed, "If Wang Anshi had been able to bend and stretch, his reform would not have ended up like that."
"So, we just sit back and watch?"
"Just watch." Lu Song said in a deep voice: "Those people are very dissatisfied with my support for Jiang Qingzhi. If I continue to stick to them, many people will poke my spine. To be honest, I am not afraid of being poked in the spine. What I am afraid of is... From now on, if I want to reform Confucianism and Confucianism, it will be like a flower in the water, a moon in the well."
"Then I'll go and tell them."
"Ok!"
Just as Lu Ping was about to go out, an official came hurriedly.
"Shangshu, there is salvation, there is salvation!"
Lu Song's face was gloomy. "I'm not dead yet, how can I be saved?"
Lu Ping asked: "Why are you here instead of staying in the lobby?"
The official said happily: "Shangshu, we have a way to get the money and grain we are short of."
"What method?" Lu Song asked calmly. In the past few days, the Ministry of Revenue has been racking its brains and coming up with ideas one after another, but most of them are bad ideas or unrealistic.
The official said: "You can borrow it!"
Lu Song was stunned for a moment, then said, "Borrowing money from those people? Ridiculous!"
Lu Ping laughed and said, "This idea... is indeed absurd. Once the news gets out, people outside will talk about how the court is so poor that it has to borrow money from merchants. How long can the Ming Dynasty last?"
The official said: "We can issue bonds for a period of one or several years, and then repay the principal and interest. As for face... my Ministry of Revenue is currently strapped for cash, so what is the point of having face?"
That’s what I said!
Lu Song was about to scold, but then he thought, damn, it’s true!
This year's fiscal deficit is huge. If we follow the routine, we can only delay and refuse to admit it. The Ministry of Revenue has no money, so we will pay it out next year.
Isn’t this also a disguised form of borrowing?
The only difference is that the borrowers have become various departments.
Lu Song exclaimed softly, with admiration in his eyes, but he shook his head, "This matter is serious, I have to report it to His Majesty, and if it goes wrong, I may have to discuss it with the court. But your idea is interesting..."
The official was delighted and sighed, "This was Long Wilbur's idea."
"It's him?"
Lu Song covered his forehead, "I said I would just sit back and watch, but he gave me a way to save my life. I... forget it, I'll go and help him before things get out of hand!"
Lu Song hurried out of the lobby.
what!
What about the expected noise?
He glanced at Lu Ping and thought, wasn't the matter just now about to become a huge uproar?
Why is there so much silence?
Could it be...
Had a falling out and left?
Just as Lu Song was about to go in, he heard someone say, "Who said they were leaving just now?"
It was Jiang Qingzhi's voice, "If you want to leave, do it as soon as possible."
Lu Song frowned, thinking, is there anyone as soothing as you?
He was about to go in and comfort her, but he found that no one inside said a word, as if Jiang Qingzhi was the only one performing a one-man show.
"Since no one wants to leave, what are you waiting for? Make way!"
The sounds of fluttering clothes and footsteps suddenly came out.
Jiang Qingzhi walked slowly to the hall, sat down, and took out the medicinal cigarette.
The Western chief consultant took out the fire starter just as Jiang Qingzhi was about to touch the cigarette box. As soon as Jiang Qingzhi took the incense in his hand, the fire starter was placed in front of him.
damn thing!
Sun Bu Tong, who was a step slower again, cursed inwardly.
At the same time, remind yourself to be faster next time.
Or, why don’t you practice when you get back?
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of medicinal cigarette, exhaled the smoke, and looked at everyone through the smoke. "To be honest, in my opinion, the gentleman's kindness should be cut off after three generations."
"Then Long Wilbur can give it a try." Someone sneered.
"Before Benbo came!" Jiang Qingzhi glanced at the man with contempt, "The Tiger Guards Left Guards were already on alert."
Damn it!
Everyone was shocked.
"When I took over the power of the new policy, I was prepared to see blood. To borrow a phrase, it is better to cry together than to cry all the way." Jiang Qingzhi's murderous aura suddenly burst out.
Everyone then remembered that this man had the reputation of being the God of Death, and the several Jingguans outside Datong were proof of that.
How many powerful people are there in the capital?
This guy Jiang Qingzhi... not to mention killing enemies, he must have killed thousands of prisoners of war.
Those who can kill prisoners generally do not take human life seriously, such as Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an.
Some people said that Jiang Qingzhi was the Wu'an Jun of the Ming Dynasty, and some even jokingly said that it would be most appropriate to award Jiang Qingzhi the title of Wu'an Hou.
"Your Majesty is merciful. He said that your ancestors shed blood for the country and you cannot bear to see their children and grandchildren..." Jiang Qingzhi did not say anything further, but everyone heard the implication.
"In that case, I have thought of a way to give you a way out. The road to transformation!"
Jiang Qingzhi shook off the cigarette ash and said, "First, if my children and grandchildren rely on the land and the people to make a living from taxes, they will be sucking blood from the Ming Dynasty. This path will no longer work."
The dignitaries began to stir, and some said, "It has been like this for a thousand years. Is Lord Changwei going to cut off this path? Then may I ask, how will Your Majesty reward the meritorious officials from now on?"
Yes!
All the emperor could offer was land and population.
Looking through history books, there are countless cases where the Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Taizu of Song rewarded their ministers with slaves.
It’s not that they like to reward these things, but these are the only valuable things in the emperor’s hands.
As for rewarding money, the emperor has no surplus food in his house... It is rare for dynasties to have abundant finances, so it is better to reward land and population!
As for the privilege of not paying taxes, it was actually a disguised reward from the emperor.
But later this reward became a routine, and it became too powerful to be eliminated, which in turn undermined the dynasty's destiny.
"Is promotion considered a reward?" Jiang Qingzhi said calmly, "Promotion is not enough, that is greed. As for money, that is a matter for the future, and I will definitely give an explanation to those meritorious officials."
Emperor Taizu Gao was born in poverty and hated meat-eaters, so after becoming emperor, he was particularly mean to these people.
For example, officials’ salaries are pitifully low, and being an official is not profitable, so officials naturally resort to corruption, which is one of the reasons why corruption is becoming more and more serious.
Salary increase!
These are the carrots prepared by Jiang Qingzhi.
"Jiang Qingzhi, you..."
A powerful person pointed at Jiang Qingzhi and was about to scold him, but Du He walked over and shouted, "Get out!"
There was no need to ask him what he wanted to say. Just seeing that this guy called Jiang Qingzhi's name directly, Du He was not going to give him a good face.
The rich and powerful sneered, "The Xianzhang Marquisate has risen to prominence with Jiang Qingzhi, but has forgotten that we are all in the same boat. If you, Du He, are willing to be Jiang Qingzhi's running dog, then just go ahead and do it. Now you are blocking my way. Make way!"
Several dignitaries stood behind him.
Du He is not a good guy. After returning from the Northern Expedition, he stayed at home, eating, drinking and having fun. From the outside, it seemed that he just didn't want to get involved in the muddy water of the new policy.
What can he do?
Everyone is waiting.
Du He has gained a lot of weight recently, and his face is full of fat.
"roll!"
A loud shout was heard, and Du He kicked the nobleman, who stumbled backwards and finally fell down.
Just as he was about to get up, Du He rushed over, grabbed him by the collar, dragged him out the door, threw him down the stairs, and ordered, "Throw him out of the Ministry of Revenue!"
Two guards from the marquis's mansion came over and carried the nobleman away.
“Du He, you old dog, I’m going to see what will happen to you if you follow Jiang Qingzhi. I’m waiting for the day when you are ruined...hahahaha!”
"Pooh!"
Du He turned around and walked into the lobby and stood behind Jiang Qingzhi.
Like a guard.
Jiang Qingzhi's eyes were calm, "What were you talking about? Yes, lifting the ban on sea trade."
"Chang Wei Bo, is it true that the profit is dozens of times greater?" Finally, the powerful and influential people kept asking about this matter.
Instantly all the noise disappeared.
Everyone was staring at Jiang Qingzhi.
Even Qiu Luan is no exception.
Dozens of times the profit!
Isn’t this much better than farming?
Just a few voyages to sea and your children and grandchildren will be rich and prosperous.
With a wheezing breath, Jiang Qingzhi said, "Do you know that the silk of the Ming Dynasty is more valuable than gold in Western countries? No, it is more precious than gold."
"The emperors and generals of Western countries are proud to own a piece of silk clothing."
Jiang Qingzhi asked quietly, "How much profit can we get from this?"
In an instant, the looks of the dignitaries changed.
It seemed to be flashing green light.
"If it's true..."
"The goods are genuine!" Jiang Qingzhi said, "Do you think what I said in public is a lie?"
One of the dignitaries couldn't help but say, "Count Benbo in!"
"And I, too!"
(End of this chapter)
