Leaving Xiyuan and returning to the cabinet,

Zhang Haogu saw Liu Hongxun walking towards him.

"Is Mr. Liu Ge waiting for me?" Zhang Haogu asked.

Liu Hongxun nodded: "There are some things that I need to discuss with Yuan Fu. Now..."

Zhang Haogu said: "I am free, let's go in and talk?"

After entering the cabinet and making tea, Zhang Haogu held the tea cup and blew the hot air gently: "Liu Ge came to me to talk about Balian's capital?"

Liu Hongxun was stunned for a moment, and then said: "I can't hide it from Yuan Fu. I just talked with Mr. Huang Ge and Mr. Wei Ge about the grassland."

"We are all happy that the imperial court has won the battle. It can harvest millions of livestock and millions of horses, which is a great thing."

"Now that the imperial court has returned to its original position, when will Uncle Dingyuan be withdrawn?"

Zhang Haogu looked at Liu Hongxun in surprise: "Why do you want to withdraw?"

Liu Hongxun was even more surprised: "Is it possible that Yuan Fu intends to let Uncle Dingyuan stay in the grassland?"

Zhang Haogu nodded, calmly: "This is our plan."

"This Balianga is already my Ming Dynasty's grassland. The nearly 500,000 herdsmen in Balianga's capital are all my Ming Dynasty's subjects. Now that all the officials have been sent there, how can we ask them to withdraw?"

"Now that I have withdrawn, will Balian Anadu still be my Balian Anadu in the Ming Dynasty?"

"Therefore, not only will the imperial court not withdraw its troops, but it will also build roads and build cities, making Balian Na a complete part of the imperial court."

Liu Hongxun sighed: "Yuanfu, the emperor must have the same idea, right?"

"But has the emperor considered it? In that case, both the Balian tribe and the Nadu tribe are Tatars, not Han people."

"Those who are not from my race must have different hearts. Now they are attached to the imperial court and are willing to be my subjects of the Ming Dynasty. If someone gives them better treatment someday, will they abandon the imperial court and seek refuge with others?"

"This Tatar cannot be trusted."

Zhang Haogu smiled: "Tatars can't be trusted, but scholars can be trusted?"

"Mr. Liu Ge, please don't forget Wei Gongchao, Su Mingzhe, Fan Wencheng and others."

Liu Hongxun was suffocated. He really couldn't say anything when these people were presented. But Zhang Haogu was sophistry. Why did he transfer the discussion about the Tatars to the scholars?

"Yuanfu, even if you don't withdraw your troops, you don't need to build roads and cities for the time being, right?"

"I have some idea of ​​how much it costs to build a road. How much does it cost to build a road from Datong Road to Baliangadu? We also need to build a city! It costs too much!"

"The grassland has just been settled. Everything is unknown. Uncle Dingyuan may withdraw one day. It is not worthwhile to build cities and roads at this time."

"Furthermore, Uncle Dingyuan is also the commander of the fifth military camp, training the capital camp. If he leaves, what will happen to the three capital camps?"

Zhang Haogu took a sip of tea, his expression unchanged: "Building roads and building cities is a must. In order to strengthen the connection between the imperial court and Balian's capital, this road must be built, and the city must be built. This issue of money,

There is no need for a few pavilion elders to worry about it. Balianji has borrowed money from the court and Shanxi merchants, mobilized herdsmen, and built roads and cities at a very low cost."

"As for the three major camps in the capital, the commanders of the fifth military camp are not here, but the commanders of the Shenji Battalion are still there."

"I will prepare a handwritten edict in a moment, and Liu Ge, a senior soldier, will send it to the commander of the Shenji Battalion, General Zhaoyong Zhou Yuji, and he will be promoted to General Zhaoyi to take over the position of the commander of the fifth military camp and be responsible for training the third battalion of the capital."

Liu Hongxun had nothing to say. It was impossible to change his attitude after seeing Zhang Haogu, so it was worth leaving with a sigh.

After Liu Hongxun left, Zhang Haogu also put down the tea cup, his face as calm as a deep, but it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

Soon, the Ministry of War issued an order, and the three major battalions gathered together to beat drums and announce the cabinet appointments in public. Zhou Yuji, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, was promoted to General Zhaoyi, the commander of the fifth military camp, and was responsible for training the soldiers and horses of the three major battalions.

Zhou Yuji, who was appointed, did not expect that the position of commander of the five military camps would fall to him. He thought that one of them would be selected from Qi Yuangong, Fang Yunchu and others and transferred back.

After the appointment was completed, Zhou Yuji followed him back to the palace to resume his duties. The emperor and Zhang Shoufu were both waiting to hear his training plan.

"The last general will see the emperor and his chief assistant."

Seeing Zhou Yuji's arrival, Zhu Youxiao smiled and said, "Get up."

After Zhou Yuji sat down properly, Zhu Youxiao spoke: "The training of the three major battalions is an important matter. Now that you are responsible for training the three major battalions, what are your plans?"

Zhou Yuji said: "When I return to the emperor, I don't have any big plans. I just need to follow the old rules of my predecessor."

Zhang Haogu smiled: "It is said that a new official has three things to do when he takes office. Why don't you plan to do it?"

Zhou Yuji said very honestly: "The previous training of the three major battalions was discussed and decided by the emperor and the chief assistant with us. It is currently the most suitable training plan for the three major battalions."

"When General Cao served as the commander of the fifth military camp, the three major battalions began to train according to the plan. Now they have become accustomed to the existing training plan, and the officers and soldiers trained are all qualified."

"In this case, I don't think there are any big changes to the training plan and we can just keep it as it is."

Zhang Haogu nodded very approvingly and said to Zhu Youxiao: "Your Majesty, when a new official takes office, he will always show his abilities. He will either put forward some plans or overturn the policies of his predecessor. Everyone wants to be the official.

Xiao He, there are very few people who are willing to be Cao Shen."

"It's very rare that General Zhou is willing to serve as Cao Shen."

Zhu Youxiao also nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, General Zhou is neither arrogant nor impetuous, calm and measured, and has the demeanor of a general. General Zhou goes back to train hard. If you have any opinions, please give me some advice."

Zhou Yuji stood up and saluted: "No."

After Zhou Yuji left, Zhu Youxiao said: "Master, do you think Zhou Yuji has any plans of his own?"

Zhang Haogu pondered for a moment: "I think there is, but he also knows that the current training plan is most suitable for the current three major battalions, so he did not put it forward. He knows what is suitable for the current situation and what needs to be put in

Long term."

"Knowing the advance and retreat, assessing the situation, taking advantage of the time, one can become a general."

Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly: "What the master said is exactly what I thought. If you encounter good luck this week, practice hard, and you will be the next Cao Wenzhao."

After talking about the training of the three major camps, Zhu Youxiao stood up and stretched: "Are the elders coming?"

Eunuch Wei on the side said: "Your Majesty, the elders are already waiting at Wuying Hall."

Zhu Youxiao nodded: "Then let's go to Wuying Palace."

Eunuch Wei quickly shouted at the top of his lungs: "Your Majesty, please move to Wuying Hall!"

Although Zhu Youxiao's main job every day is to be his mechanical expert, it must be mentioned that Zhu Youxiao does a really good job as an emperor. He knows very well that he cannot handle so many government affairs, so he leaves them to the cabinet to handle.

, it is much better to hold a cabinet meeting every once in a while and find a special person to take charge of it than to hold a meaningless meeting like a court meeting every day.

Even if he does not go to court for two or three months, the major events in the court are still under his control.

Now that the tenth year of the Apocalypse has arrived, it is time to discuss with the cabinet how much the court taxed last year, how much it spent, what this year's estimates are, and other issues.

Under the protection of a large number of guards, Zhu Youxiao and Zhang Haogu arrived at the Wuying Palace. Zhu Youxiao walked very fast. When he saw a group of ministers from the auxiliary government wanting to salute, he immediately waved his hand: "No courtesy, just go ahead." let's start."

With that said, Zhu Youxiao sat on the dragon couch, and all the cabinet assistants sat in a circle. Zhang Haogu sat next to Zhu Youxiao, and Eunuch Wei and Wang Tiqian were waiting on him.

At the moment, the Wuying Palace is really the highest level of the entire Ming Dynasty. There is one emperor, one chief minister, and six cabinet assistants. If this Wuying Palace is taken over by one pot, then the Ming Dynasty will really be in chaos. .

However, it is simply a dream to make a sudden attack on Wuying Palace in the currently protected palace, and then break through the layers of guards to block it.

Didn't you see that the civil servants of the Donglin Party and those noble military generals have given up the idea of ​​changing the emperor? Otherwise, according to the characteristics of the old Zhu family being easily soluble in water, Zhu Youxiao would have sunk into the pond long ago.

Clearing his throat, Zhang Haogu said: "Your Majesty, colleagues, we all know that at the end of this year, the statistical results of various ministries have come out. How much revenue and expenses will the imperial court have this year? How will the finances be arranged next year? Yiyi.”

"For specific details, let each ministry decide on its own."

With that said, Zhang Haogu looked at Lu Xiangsheng: "Mr. Lu Ge, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. How much money does the court have now and where is the money spent? Tell everyone about it."

Lu Xiangsheng also cleared his throat, then took out the fold from his sleeve and looked at Huang Liji, Wei Guangwei, and Liu Hongxun, and then said slowly: "Back to the emperor, chief minister, dear ministers, last year my Ming Dynasty's tax revenue reached five One hundred billion, an increase of nearly 10% from last year, which is equivalent to fifty million taels when converted into silver."

Fifty million taels of silver!

When did the Ming Dynasty become so wealthy?

During the Yongle Dynasty, the imperial court only had 30 to 40 million taels of silver a year, which was already very astonishing at that time.

In the Wanli and Jiajing dynasties, the imperial court's annual income was several million taels of silver. By the Tianqi year, the imperial court's annual income was even less than three million taels of silver.

But it's only been a few years, and the imperial court's annual income is 48 million taels of silver!

Upon hearing this figure, Wei Guangwei and Huang Liji looked at each other and saw the bitterness in each other's expressions. This new policy has brought so much tax revenue, and it does not cost the people. The people's lives are getting better and better, and almost everyone in the world has They all support the New Deal, but the Donglin Party just wants them to go against Zhang Haogu. How can they go against each other?

It's not the same level at all. Oops, I can't beat it?

Lu Xiangsheng did not look at the expressions of Wei Guangwei and Huang Liji. He continued: "However, the imperial court has a lot of taxes and spends a lot. Although the taxes in Shandong, Henan, Gyeonggi, Jiangnan and other places have increased, well, the taxes in Hubei have also increased a lot. , This really surprised Tobe."

"After all, Hubei's tax revenue was good last year, but compared to the overall environment, it was still not enough."

As he spoke, Lu Xiangsheng took out a piece of information that he had prepared long ago: "Now that the land of Gansu and Shaanxi has been initially managed, the cost has been reduced by 50%, but this year there are still drought and flood disasters in the north and south, and the court's disaster relief is A lot of money was spent, and the campaign to conquer Liao and the war on the grassland also cost a lot."

Zhang Haogu said with a smile: "At least the tax has been increased. Fifty million taels of silver is more than the Yongle Dynasty. You all have worked hard."

"Speaking of which, in the past two years, the imperial court has invested a lot near the capital, building canals and reservoirs, and irrigating farmland. The land in the capital is getting better, but Shanxi, Gansu and Shaanxi still need to be adjusted."

"Have you all read the details of the governor of the three sides, Shi Kefa, on regulating the Yellow River? Do you have any opinions?"

When it came to Shi Kefana's big plan to control the Yellow River, Lu Xiangsheng wanted to say something, but even if he opened his mouth, he still didn't say anything. After all, managing the Yellow River is a contribution to the present and will benefit the future. Dredging the Yellow River, modifying the river course, building embankments along the river, and protecting both sides of the river

Environment, etc., these big plans are all aimed at restoring the Loess Plateau to its original appearance in Guanzhong.

The cost is a bit too much, but the money that should be spent cannot be saved.

You may see that you have saved some money now, but if you save it once, future generations will have to spend more money and more manpower and material resources to manage it.

In fact, not much of the imperial government's tax revenue was spent on military expenditures last year.
To be continued...