Chapter 225 Court meeting

"Bo Zhang, what do you think about the Huang Laifu bonds that the emperor said?"

After returning to the cabinet, the chief assistant Zhao Zhigao asked Yang Junmin, the Minister of Revenue.

Just now, Emperor Wanli summoned all the cabinet ministers into the palace to discuss the national debts raised by Huang Laifu yesterday. Everyone discussed the matter for a whole morning before they could return to the cabinet.

"Absurd!" Yang Junmin's attitude was very clear, just to firmly oppose it.

He put on his official robe and said seriously: "From the third generation, there has been no news that the court has borrowed from the people. If this is spread, it will damage the court's dignity. Even if the money is borrowed and the urgent needs are solved, how can we repay it in the future? The treasury is empty at present, and millions of taels of silver cannot be returned so easily. If the money cannot be paid back, what kind of riots will cause? My personal reputation and official position are small, and the state and dynasty are the most important, so it must not be!"

Joke, this national debt matter will definitely be counted on the Ministry of Revenue in the future. If such a large amount of money occurs in the future, a large number of official hats will be thrown away. Yang Junmin is unwilling to take such a big blame.

Zhao Zhigao also nodded. As the chief minister of the cabinet, he could not accept the previous concepts of bonds proposed by Huang Laifu. What's more, this account may be counted on them in the future.

However, at present, the money is urgently needed to pay various expenses for the army entering the Korean army. If there is no way, he also tends to collect taxes for the Eastern Expedition. The Ming Dynasty has a lot of resources. Even if the silver is increased by a few cents per mu of land, he can receive millions of taels of silver, and it is extremely safe. Even if the people resent, they will only blame the emperor. All under the world is the king's land. The king's ministers are the king's subjects.

The rest of the ministers of the Imperial Palace were not in charge of finance, and they were not in charge of the finance department. They casually agreed with the attitude of watching the show.

Chen Yubi, a great minister of Wenyuan Pavilion, frowned and said, "As a military general, Huang Laifu should have done his duties and specialized in guarding the borders of the country. How could he tempt the emperor cleverly? The treasury was exhausted and he should clear up the accumulated corruption, remove redundant staff, clear the storage of the treasury in the inner treasury, and collect the silver. In this way, the food and wages for the east will be prepared!... Let the court issue national debts, what is this state and what is the face?"

Everyone nodded, thinking that the method proposed by Huang Laifu was very ridiculous. The emperor didn't know what he thought, but he would agree with Huang Laifu's opinion. It's really...

In the following days, Emperor Wanli had arguing with several cabinet ministers, especially the cabinet chief Zhao Zhigao, and the Minister of Revenue Yang Junmin, the Minister of Revenue. Of course, the Ministry of Revenue should take the lead in this matter. However, Yang Junmin was very determined and insisted that this method would not work.

The matter is dead here, and the army of aiding the North Koreans is about to enter the North Koreans. The preparation of food and wages is becoming more and more urgent. Moreover, after the news of the national debt came out, officials were talking about it. It seems that it is necessary to call for a large court meeting.

...

On April 25, the 25th year of Wanli, Emperor Wanli ordered a court meeting to be held.

On this day, the sky was just getting dark, and all the officials were in the dark red and blue ramie silk court uniforms outside the Qiji Palace Gate. The Ming Dynasty official uniforms were red at the fourth rank and blue at the fifth rank.

Huang Laifu was also wearing a crown, a red official robe, a jade belt hanging on his waist, and a tiger and leopard on his patch. He looked at his nose and nose, as if he was sleeping but not sleeping, and ignored the various gazes cast by the officials beside him.

In this venue, there are very few senior officials in the court as young as him, let alone a military general. Moreover, over the years, he has been a hot topic of controversy among everyone, and many officials have cast curious eyes at him and whispered constantly. Especially today, this matter itself is very special. It is really a major event that the state dynasty proposes by a military general and discusses at the court meeting.

Huang Laifu noticed that many people whispered, and noticed that the cabinet chief Zhao Zhigao and the Minister of Revenue Yang Junmin had complex eyes at him. Only the auxiliary ministers Zhang Wei and Chen Yiguan were in contact with his gaze and nodded with a smile.

Soon, when it was Yin, only three drums were heard. Amid the drum sound, the Meridian Gate slowly opened, and a large group of imperial guards came out, holding shiny spears in their hands and standing on both sides. At this time, the drum sound stopped, and two eunuchs who were heading out of the Meridian Gate by the Imperial Horse Supervisor, stood on both sides of the door, and built a bridge with a long nose.

The forbidden bell rang, and all the officials entered the palace gate seriously from under the elephant trunk. Officials under the fourth rank could only wait outside the Meridian Gate. After the officials entered the palace gate, they would complete a team in the square in front of the palace, with the civil servants' positions on the east and west of the military officers' positions on the west. The censor responsible for the inspection began to name the names, and also recorded the names of officials who were coughing, spitting, etc., as well as falling to the ground, unstable steps, etc., and listen to the waiting places.

After counting the number of officials from the Ministry of Rites, they reported in with the yellow book and the name of the book. Soon, Emperor Wanli's carriage and the ceremonial guard arrived. The emperor sat in a gorgeous daluo and entered the Huangji Hall.

Soon, a whip sounded in the hall, and all the officials kowtowed together under the order of praise for the ritual officials. Along with the officials in the square and the low-level officials outside the Han Dynasty, performing the ceremony of five bows and three bows. The sound of "Long live my emperor" resounded throughout the world.

Looking at this situation, Zhao Zhigao and Chen Yubi's eyes were wet. This scene... I haven't seen it for many years?

After the worship, everyone in the venue stood up and waited quietly, eunuchs came out to deliver messages, and officials of the fourth rank or above entered the hall.

Chen Yubi said to Zhao Zhigao: "Prince, please!"

Zhao Zhigao smiled and said to everyone: "Please, ministers!"

Yang Junmin, the Minister of Revenue, glanced at Huang Laifu not far away and said, "Please ask me, ministers, please."

At present, civil and military officials above the fourth rank in the capital, divided into civil and military stairs and climbed to the stairs from the left gate to enter the hall, kowtowed to Emperor Wanli on the imperial tent of Jintai, and then stood in the corridor and in different squads.

Zhao Zhigao, the chief minister of the cabinet, was naturally standing next to the Jintai tent, while the six ministries and nine ministers stood next to the east eaves pillars. Huang Laifu stood behind the west, and the front was full of officials from the Ministry of War or the Governor's Office. Although they were in charge of military affairs, they were actually literati. Although Huang Laifu was the general of a town, he was still very far behind in the west of the main hall. The real military generals in the hall were no one except him.

But among the crowd, the new Minister of War Xing Jie was not seen, and he had already gone to Liaodong.

All the ministers came in, and Emperor Wanli, who was sitting on the Danbao, slowly glanced at everyone. Such a grand dynasty meeting had not been held for many years. Usually, there were matters in the cabinet and the officials and officials praised the redemption. Most of these grand dynasty meetings were endless and there was a rare unified opinion. In addition, the boring ceremony year after year, day after day, makes people feel annoying.

However, the cabinet did not agree with the matter of national debt, and Emperor Wanli had no choice but to attend the meeting. However, he was not sure whether these civil servants could discuss anything during the meeting and whether they could agree with Huang Laifu's opinion.

...

"Your Majesty, General Huang's proposal must not be done!"

When Emperor Wanli mentioned the matter of national debt again, Yang Junmin, the Minister of Revenue, opposed it firmly and had a fierce dispute with Huang Laifu.

He said to the emperor sincerely: "How can I borrow money from the people in my court? I have never heard of it since the three generations. If this is spread, wouldn't it be ridiculed by the country in the world? This is one of them! Even if we ignore the court's tradition, we borrow millions of taels of silver from the people, plus profits, and all kinds of calculations will not be a small amount in the end. How can this money be repaid in the future? If it cannot be repaid, what will happen in the future? Who is responsible?"

Huang Laifu said: "Didn't I say that in the future, I will ask Japan to pay compensation and force them to open up trade ports and let them trade with our merchants? In this way, it will be enough to repay the borrowed national debt!"

Yang Junmin sneered: "How can General Huang be sure that Japan will definitely pay compensation in the future, and how can I be sure that my Ming merchants are willing to trade in Japan?"

Huang Laifu said: "I can certainly be sure, I understand what those businessmen are thinking!" He asked back with a smile: "I dare to ask Lord Yang, if you don't issue national debts, how can you prepare for the levy of food and wages?"

Yang Junmin said: "The emperor can issue an order to increase the silver taxes from the people of the world. If one acre of land is given an additional five cents of silver, the whole country will be enough to raise more than millions of taels of silver, which is enough to pay for the various east expedition fees!"

Huang Laifu said lightly: "Mr. Yang reads the books of sages, don't you know the sufferings of the people in the world? It may not be much to calculate if the tax on silver is given by a mu of land. However, if the people below make some moves, the agricultural tax paid by the people in the end will not be five cents, but five cents are possible! At present, natural disasters are constantly coming, and the people are suffering. Does Lord Yang bear to ask them to increase their taxes? Issuing national bonds, although the reputation in the court is not good, is it a real benefit to the people. Those who buy national bonds will definitely be rich merchants and wealthy families in the future, and will pay them twice as much in the future. This is a good thing that can be achieved in one fell swoop, so why is it not implemented?"

Yang Junmin thought he was an example among civil officials and thought that everything he did was for the country and the people. Today, the first time among all officials, Huang Laifu was openly criticized by Huang Laifu for not knowing the sufferings of the people. When this was heard, where was his reputation? He immediately turned red and pointed at Huang Laifu and shouted: "A man, what did you... say?"

At the same time, several people in the hall accused Huang Laifu of the Minister of Rites Zhang Wei, and also ordered Huang Laifu to pay attention to etiquette and to not be rude to the ministers.

Emperor Wanli also criticized Huang Laifu a few words, and at the same time comforted Yang Junmin, so that he didn't have to care too much. Who made Huang Laifu a warrior who was rough and unethical by nature? The emperor said this, and Yang Junmin also stopped talking angrily, but he made up his mind to stop talking.

Others in the hall took over and debated with Huang Laifu.

The chief minister Zhao Wanbi said, "General Huang said that after the war, he asked the Japanese to cede land and pay compensation. Not to mention whether the Japanese would do this in the future. My dignified kingly army will come to the court to quell the thieves. Even after the chaos, he should be benevolent in the world. How can he seek wealth and wealth and increase hatred?"

Huang Laifu said: "If you defeat, you have to cede land and pay compensation. This is a very normal thing. Even if the Japanese hate me for the Celestial Empire, what if you don't agree, you can fight another war! As for the wealth and wealth of people, can you only use the wealth of the people of the Ming Dynasty, and you can't use the wealth of foreign countries for me? The people of the Ming Dynasty are not as valuable as those Japanese slaves?"

Huke Hao Jing said: "After the court issued the government bonds, General Huang will surely have someone to buy them? If no one buys them, wouldn't it be ridiculed by the world?"

Huang Laifu said with great confidence: "I'm sure that there are so many people buying at that time. With such high profits and the vast overseas market in the future, those rich merchants will not be blind!"

...

Chen Yubi came up again, and Huang Laifu said again, he talked loudly and fought one after another, and everyone in the hall was speechless. Unexpectedly, a warrior like Huang Laifu was so clever. He fought dozens of people alone, but he didn't see any timidity, and he felt like he was fighting against many scholars.

The censor Ma Congpin suddenly took office, but ignored Huang Laifu and said to Emperor Wanli: "Emperor, today I am going to ask for a matter of danger of the country, which is the harm of mining and taxation ordered by the emperor. Otherwise, what will happen after the preparation of food and money for the east, and what will happen after the victory of the Ping Dynasty? These are the final foundation of the country."

He ignored the changed face of Emperor Wanli and continued: "Now, the small people compete for profit, and Your Majesty sends all the envoys to the Central Committee every day, and it is endless. How should this be done in a prosperous and prosperous world? Since ancient times, there has been no plan for financial affairs without planning with ministers and workers. The emperor actually followed the matters such as reform and profit, and the emperor followed the report and followed the report, and did not order the cabinet, and the ministry to discuss and decide, and did not allow the officials to advise and oppose it. It was a great loss of the system of ancestors!"

Seeing that Emperor Wanli's face changed, Ma Congpin was even more happy. He continued: "He is now a messenger, and only wants to do what he wants, roaring with others, setting up traps in an instant, and setting up traps at a distance. The world is in a state of collapse. Your Majesty's intention to make money is to be in case of unexpected events, but instead bring disaster to disaster! I ask the emperor to withdraw all the messengers and return the reputation of the world!"

The censors suddenly realized that they used to persuade the emperor to give up the mining tax. After the memorial was entered, there was no further information. Now there was a good opportunity. Another censor came to the scene and said, "I agree with what Censor Ma said. The current situation is very worrying! The central discipline of the dynasty is abolished, and the Rong Di invaded the tombs was fundamentally shaken! The military preparations were not built, and the treasury was exhausted. Your Majesty is also in a high position in the palace, without seeing the ministers, and without listening to the officials' opinions. At present, Yan was lazy and self-laid. I ask the emperor to work diligently to the court, have a clear mind and few desires, and practice political affairs on their own, which can boost my bright future!"

Fu Haoli, the young minister of Taichang Temple, also came out and said: "The current taxation is in vain and exploit the people! Even if the country is poor, it should not include the fat that is used to extend the lives of the people. Why do Your Majesty like to do it? I ask the emperor to dismiss the mining tax!"

Liu Gang, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy, also said: "Last year, a fire broke out in Kunning and the Ganqing Palace. Your Majesty issued an edict to blame himself for his lack of sincerity and not benefiting the people. I know that the grievances of heaven have not stopped. So he built a large-scale construction, cut wood, draw taxes, and quarrying tiles. The distance is thousands of miles, and the nearest is hundreds of miles. The people exhausted their ointments and blood, and the supply of muscles and bones are insufficient, and the muscles and bones are not enough to work hard. Selling his wife cannot repay the loan. In addition, the drought and slums are not enough to pay the loan. In addition, the drought and slums are not enough to be in trouble, and people are not angry and resentful. The place is like hatred, which leads to another fire in the third hall. Please think about it yourself, whether you can think about the truth day and night? There are Japanese disasters outside and thieves inside. If Your Majesty does not make any clear decisions, the sky will be angry and the people will be resentful!"

The censor Zhou Pan stepped forward and said, "I ask Your Majesty to reflect on the blame and talk to you again to communicate the feelings between the inside and outside, and to communicate the far and near. Please ask the position of the eldest son of the emperor to relieve the doubts of the ministers. Please withdraw the mine envoy to eliminate hidden dangers in the world. You must use the deposed ministers and strictly restrain the close servants. Only in this way can the country be prosperous and the people be safe!"

...

Huang Laifu watched the ministers step forward in a daze, all of whom were erect and unscrupulous, pointing their fingers directly at Emperor Wanli. Only then did he understand the power of civil servants of this era. If he was the emperor, he would have just been in court and hid in the palace, and he would have no idea what was clean.

The face of Emperor Wanli above was getting ugly. Finally, a voice came from above: "Retreat the court..."
Chapter completed!