I'm really not the carpenter emperor

Zhu Youxiao leaned on the chair, looked at the dark night sky outside the Nuan Pavilion, nodded and said:

"If the content of the court's new salt law is truthfully known to the people, the people will not object, and some corrupt officials must be obstructing it."

"This Zhang Daqi, this kind of trouble in his jurisdiction is the biggest, and he is the most suspected!"

"The old minister knows. When we go back, we will arrange for people to go to Dengzhou Mansion to investigate in detail." Wei Zhongxian nodded and said:

"However, the old minister feels that the content of the new salt law of the imperial court must be communicated to the ordinary people, and Dongchang should handle it without going through the local government, so as to fundamentally solve the current problems."

Zhu Youxiao naturally knew what Wei Zhongxian was thinking, and said with a smile:

"When something like this happens, I'm afraid the common people won't listen to Dongchang's words, so let someone they trust do it."

Wei Zhongxian was startled.

"Your Majesty means..."

"Shandong General Yang Zhaoji has a good reputation. Tianqi assisted Wen Tiren in solving the chaos caused by the Shandong earthquake in the second year. I think it's best to leave this matter to the two of them."

Wei Zhongxian didn't speak, but seemed thoughtful.

Zhu Youxiao looked at him sideways, and asked lightly: "Will the factory minister have any objections to this matter?"

Wei Zhongxian was excited, and hurriedly said: "The old minister just remembered something and lost his mind. The old minister has no objection. Your majesty is wise!"

Zhu Youxiao didn't ask anything, as if he didn't hear it at all, he said directly:

"An imperial edict was sent overnight to Yang Zhaoji, the general of Shandong, telling him to lead the troops of his headquarters as soon as possible, and move the town to the Second Mansion of Denglai. If there are civil disturbances, they can be suppressed directly."

It was a last resort to deploy troops to prepare for civil unrest. If this kind of thing really happened, no matter why these coastal people took this road, Zhu Youxiao couldn't be used to it.

No one is innocent in such matters.

"Dongchang will continue to investigate saltworks in various places, but Dongchang will not interfere with the matter of Denglai Second Mansion. I will let Beizhen Fusi do it later."

With that said, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said:

"The factory ministers should go back first. Since the second mansion of Denglai is the happiest, I want to set an example for the world, so I will start the investigation from Denglai."

"You can search as hard as you can, and report to me as much as you find out, and I will deal with it myself!"

Now that the emperor issued an order to expel the guests, Wei Zhongxian couldn't wait any longer, so he bowed and said: "Your Majesty, take care of your health, and the old minister will leave."

"Well, come and report to me if there is anything else."

Seeing Wei Zhongxian leave, Zhu Youxiao said: "Wang Chaofu, you can go to Wen Tiren's house later, and ask Xu Xianchun to come to Xinuan Pavilion."

……

Wen Tiren doesn't have any so-called mansion yet, his official position is not big or small, he is the editor of the Imperial Academy, and his salary is not much, the place he lives in is just a slightly bigger courtyard.

In the middle of the night, Wen Tiren was still sleeping soundly, but someone knocked on his door.

Wen Tiren was sleeping soundly, unwilling to open the door at all.

He tossed and turned on the couch, but after a while, he heard that there was still noise outside the door, so he got off the couch cursing.

As soon as the door was opened, Wen Tiren was shocked and opened his mouth wide. What he said just now to show these people a good look was immediately thrown out of the blue.

"Master Wen, why are you so indifferent when you see our family?" Wang Chaofu was standing beside the door with a few school captains and little eunuchs smiling.

"Father, father-in-law, please!"

Wen Tiren naturally recognized the official signboard of the Da Nei Qian Qing Palace, one of the five most powerful eunuchs in the inner court, the prince.

Chao Fu was also the one closest to the emperor among the five old eunuchs, and this power was only under Wei Zhongxian and Yu Ma Jian, who held the seal of Wang Tigan.

Such an important person came to him in the middle of the night with this posture, and a fool could guess that it must be the emperor's will.

Generally speaking, once the emperor has a special imperial decree for someone, he will either be in great trouble, or he will be entrusted with a heavy responsibility.

The last time Wen Tiren received an impromptu order to deal with the earthquake in Shandong, it is exactly the same now.

After inviting Wang Chaofu and his party, he seemed a little excited, the hand holding the weak tea trembled, and spilled some tea on the table.

Chapter 474 The Imperial Power Goes to the Countryside

"Your father-in-law came to see you late at night, do you have some urgent orders?" Wen Tiren sat aside with weak tea and smiled earnestly.

Wang Chaofu squinted, picked up the tea, put it up his nose and smelled it, frowned slightly, but put it down politely, and said:

"Master Wen's guess is right, but it's not our family's important matter, but His Majesty's."

"The minister is gentle and benevolent, waiting for the imperial decree!"

Wen Tiren said sure enough, and hurriedly shouted.

Wang Chaofu took out a golden scroll from his sleeve, stood up and spread it out, sternly proclaiming: "Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the imperial edict says:

Wen Tiren, the editor of the Imperial Academy, has been an official for many years. He has been conscientious and has achieved outstanding achievements.

This is it. "

Wen Tiren couldn't believe his ears, the right servant of the official department!

The Ministry of Officials is a very powerful yamen, and the right servant of the Ministry of Officials is equivalent to the third in command of the Ministry of Officials, a senior official of the third rank!

Thinking that I have been an official in the 26th year of Wanli, and I have experienced nearly [-] years of ups and downs in the officialdom. I have tasted the sweetness and suffered even more. I thought I would never have another chance, but I did not expect that the new emperor came four years later Life changing!

"Chen, Chen Wen Tiren accepts the decree and thank you!" Wen Tirenshan finished calling, got up to accept the imperial decree, rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "Elder-in-law, please be considerate, there is no food left at home, so this tea is naturally..."

It seems that Wen Tiren still noticed the slight change in his expression just now.

Chao Fu nodded secretly, admiring the emperor's talent in selecting candidates, and said with a smile: "It's okay, when Shi Lang Wen arrives in the Ministry of Officials and has good tea to drink, don't forget to invite our family again."

"Father-in-law, walk slowly!"

Wen Tiren sent Wang Chaofu away with a bow and bow, holding the imperial decree in his mind for a while, and then frowned soon.

Go to Terengganu to preside over the implementation of the new salt law?

He didn't pay attention to the decree at first, but now looking back at the content of the decree, he found that although he saw this opportunity, it was not so easy to grasp it.

Recently, the court's implementation of the new salt law has caused a lot of trouble in the court.

Unlike in the past, this time the cabinet, the military computer room, and even the heads of the six ministries all had the same opinion, pushing for the implementation of the new salt law.

Wen Tiren didn't need to think about it, it must be that the implementation of the new salt law in the coastal areas was frustrated, and the emperor thought of himself.

The implementation of the new salt law this time is a test for the emperor to himself, and it is also the only opportunity for him in the second half of his life. Whether he grasps it or not depends on his own ability!

Thinking of this, Wen Tiren immediately lit up the oil lamp, sat by the bed and started writing.

……

Early the next morning, Zhu Youxiao only slept for about two hours after returning from Nuange, and then got up and went to Xinuange to manage politics.

As soon as he sat on the dragon chair, Zhu Youxiao saw the memorial written by Wen Tiren overnight - "Xinyan Fashu".

After opening it, he nodded again and again.

In this memorial, Wen Tiren summarized in detail the process of governing the salt administration since the Ming Dynasty. From the strict management in the Hongwu period to the relaxation of the salt law in the Jiajing period, to the reason why the corruption has become commonplace, nothing has been left behind.

This new book on salt law is an extremely test of the skills of the mind. It is full of more than a thousand words, but it lists the shortcomings of the salt administration all the time. It is clear and easy to understand.

Zhu Youxiao read almost every word for more than half an hour.

After reading it, I basically have a clear understanding of why the implementation of the new salt law is difficult and the history of the Ming Dynasty's salt administration.

"It is said that Wen Tiren has entered the palace, I still have some questions to ask."

As soon as the words fell, Wang Chaofu stood aside with a puzzled look on his face, and replied:

"My lord, he wrote this notebook after delivering the decree last night, asked his servants to submit it to the Nuan Pavilion, and left Beijing for Dengzhou Mansion in the early morning."

"Oh……"

Zhu Youxiao nodded, his expression darkened, and he continued to pick up the book and read.

Indeed, although Wen Tiren summed it up very clearly, after reading it, Zhu Youxiao still felt that the salt administration since the Ming Dynasty was too chaotic, and it has become so chaotic that it has to be governed.

What Wen Tiren said is right, the salt administration has been corrupted to this day, and the slow governance can no longer be effectively resolved, and it may drag down the finances that have just improved.

There is only one way, and that is to cut the mess with a sharp knife.

On the road of salt government reform, the strong dragon must overwhelm the local snake, and anyone who dares to block the road will be killed by the horse.

In the memorial, Wen Tiren also put forward some conjectures.

He hasn't been to Terengganu yet, but according to his guess, the existing salt products in the major salt fields in Terengganu must be extremely rich.

According to the previous salt policy, the official salt could not be sold at all, and it must be piled up in the salt fields!

But at this time, the bosses who are in charge of the salt farms for the imperial court must be hoarding salt goods urgently to avoid being found out by the imperial court.

The reason why Wen Tiren can make this guess is that the only official old salt law promulgated by the imperial court since the early Ming Dynasty is the Tianzhong Law.

Tianzhong Fa has undergone several changes since the Hongwu Year, but only the difference between loose and strict management, and the specific changes are not big.

The salt field was under the salt monopoly system of the Ming Dynasty. It was necessary to clearly define the grassroots management organization for the management of salt production.

The purpose of Tianzhong Law is actually to better manage the salt industry and achieve a balance between the supply and demand of table salt.

Salt merchants can get the salt, and then borrow the salt to the designated salt farm to get the salt, and be responsible for transporting it to the designated sales point for sale. This is the main content of Tianzhongfa.

It was well conceived, and it crashed badly.

The seemingly "seamless" operation under the law of heaven and earth actually has a lot of loopholes.

Even at this time, the various places are not connected by official roads, so "all roads lead to Rome", and transportation is still very inconvenient.

Where the salt industry thrives, it is often in those extremely barren coastal areas, where salt shipments and trade are difficult to control.

The salt merchants, as sellers, are almost out of touch with the owners of the producers and salt farms in terms of time, and cannot be looped.

In general, a considerable number of people in various places make a living on this, resulting in the continuous production of salt goods, but because of the extremely inconvenient transportation, it takes a long time for the salt goods to be sold to various places.

In order to control the salt industry, the Tianzhong Law clearly stipulates that the owner of the salt farm shall not sell salt goods privately, but must hand them over to the salt merchants who have obtained the salt for sale.

Various reasons may lead to a backlog of salt in the saltworks.

Therefore, Wen Tiren said in the memorandum that there will be a large amount of surplus salt in salt fields in various places, which is also a reasonable guess based on the facts.

The remaining salt remaining in the salt field did not realize its essential value, because only by selling the remaining salt could the court make a profit.

It is precisely because of this that during the Jiajing period, the policy of relaxing private salt trading was passed in the court council, which alleviated the problem of salt accumulation to a certain extent.

But the facts have proved that after the relaxation of control over the salt industry, not only did the situation fail to improve, but it also contributed to the current trend of private salt and collusion between government and businessmen.

From this point of view, the new salt law I promoted is correct, and the problem now is very clear, that is, how to deal with the backlash from local forces.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao leaned back on the chair, closed his eyes and meditated, the corners of his mouth gradually turned up.

"Decree to order troops from all over the country to enter the salt field, and if anyone is found hoarding surplus salt from the government, kill them!"

"Let the generals stationed in various places issue another notice to check the previous notices posted by the local governments. If you find any of them that are contrary to the new salt law of the imperial court, arrest them!"

Chapter 475 A little bit of peace of mind

A few days later, Denglai Governor Yamen.

The governor's yamen is located in Penglai, and the current governor of Denglai is Yuan Keli, who took office in the second year of Tianqi.

Yuan Keli is a rare doer among today's courtiers. He not only has ideas, but also puts many ideas into practice.

Zhu Youxiao's original idea was that Xiong Tingbi would be in charge of Liao affairs, and Yuan Keli would be in charge of Denglai. Now the facts have proved that this idea is just right.

After Yuan Keli arrived in Denglai, the imperial court also began to develop the military department in Shandong.

So far, Shandong is the area where the Military Weapons Division has built the most workshops except Jifu. A large part of the new armor ordnance sent to Jiubian in the second year of Tianqi came from the Shandong Military Weapons Division's workshops.

The Armament Division was developed by the imperial court itself, and the success of the reorganization of the Denglai Navy is inseparable from the current Governor of Denglai.

Although the original Denglai navy had hundreds of warships in name, the actual situation was the same as that of the Fujian navy in the first year of the apocalypse. The main force was Cangshan warships.

To put it bluntly, they are all fancy but not useful. They look like flags everywhere, but when they fight, they are all rotten fish and rotten shrimps. They are not at the same level as the Western Fleet.

When Yuan Keli took office, the battle between the Fujian Navy and the Dutch East India Kung Fu Colonial Fleet had not yet passed. Many people knew about that battle. Daming won, but it was a miserable victory.

In this battle, Ming Dynasty had highly qualified admirals, and the morale of the navy officers and soldiers was not low in order to defend their homes and the country, but they couldn't help it with the Dutch fleet.

Later, the Zheng family was temporarily recruited, and the Zheng family's fleet, which was extremely capable of naval warfare, barely defeated the Dutch.

It was also at that time that Zheng Yiguan was recruited, so that the Zheng family developed extremely rapidly in the next two years, and now there are some signs that the end will not go away.