Chapter 390: Volume C’s rants before the king (Part 1) (First update!)

 When she received the notice from the palace, Feng Ziying also felt excited.

 Finally the wait is here, and it’s a solo session in the East Study Room.

This is basically a treatment that only Ge Lao, the six ministers of the six departments, and the Zuodu censor of the Duchayuan can enjoy. It is difficult for even other officials to enjoy it.

There is certainly the factor of being entrusted by Chai Ke, and Feng Ziying also knows that it has a lot to do with her strategy from the National Examination to the Palace Examination and her performance in "Internal Reference".

Having never been to the palace, but never eating pork and seeing pigs running on the mountain, Feng Ziying changed into plain clothes and waited outside the palace gate early, waiting for the chamberlain to take her in.

 Walking in all the way, I didn’t feel much. The waiter who led the way was like a boring gourd. He just led the way and didn’t say a word. This was far beyond Feng Ziying’s expectation.

 He thought that these interior eunuchs should be talkative, but now it seems that there are still many misunderstandings.

Red walls, green tiles, green cypresses, and after several large circles, Feng Ziying, led by the chamberlain and guards, walked to a small courtyard that did not look particularly outstanding. Apart from being clean and tidy, with old doors and windows, it was quiet. The environment is nothing special.

 But you should have guessed that this is the so-called East Study Room.

  If it is not a court meeting, the emperor usually chooses to work here, and it is also next to the emperor's palace, which is the most convenient for the emperor's daily life.

 “Your Majesty, people are coming.”

 The voice of the chamberlain is not feminine, it sounds neutral and peaceful, neither light nor heavy.

"Oh, let him in." A slightly older voice surprised Feng Ziying.

 Emperor Yonglong should be in his early fifties, right? Why do you sound a little tired?

Stepping into the door, Feng Ziying's eyes just glanced, and she quickly knelt down and kowtowed. Even if she didn't want to, she had to follow the rules, "Student Feng Keng kowtows to the emperor."

Emperor Yonglong’s gentle eyes fell on the tall and straight body in front of him, and he nodded slightly, “Get up and give me a seat.”

Feng Ziying still kowtowed according to the rules before getting up. She was led by the chamberlain to sit down on a brocade stool, which surprised the chamberlain. This is really the treatment of the cabinet elder and the six ministers.

"Sure enough, a hero comes from a young age. I have wanted to meet you for a long time. I am very sorry for both the examination and the palace examination. Well, there is a saying that goes well, the awl is in the bag, the end is seen immediately, and the yellow sand is blown away before the beginning. Seeing Jin, Feng Qing’s trip to suppress the rebellion in Western Xinjiang was enough to silence all those who questioned Feng Qing.”

Feng Ziying then raised her head, stood up and said with a salute: "Your Majesty, you are overly complimentary. This Western Expedition to quell the rebellion depends entirely on Master Chai and Master Yang's strategic planning, so that they can be overwhelming and successfully quell the rebellion..."

"Haha, Feng Qing is too self-effacing. Not to mention Feng Qing's own merits, it is also your father's merits, right?" The more Emperor Yonglong looked at the young man in front of him, the more satisfied he became. He was neither humble nor arrogant, calm and measured, and completely without those initial characteristics. The person who sees Tian Yan may be submissive or arrogant. He likes this kind of firm and confident temperament.

"My father's merits and demerits will be judged by Mr. Chai, Mr. Yang and the Ministry of War. I dare not make false claims."

Feng Ziying saw that Emperor Yonglong was calling herself Qing, so he changed his title. This Shujishi himself was an official in the internship stage, and it was reasonable to call himself a student or a minister.

"Well." Emperor Yonglong nodded, "I have already read the memorials sent back by Chai Ke and Yang He, as well as the memorials forwarded by your father through the Ministry of War. Chai Ke also said that there are many more detailed situations that I need from you. Report when you come to see me..."

“Master Chai has indeed entrusted me with a detailed explanation of his conception and strategy when he meets with the emperor,” Feng Ziying said calmly.

"Chai Ke said you came up with this idea first?" Chai Ke didn't bother to take credit from Feng Ziying, and he didn't care about it either.

“It is true that I proposed some ideas first, but the specific planning and improvement were agreed upon by Mr. Chai, Mr. Yang, and Mr. Geng, the Secretary of the Ministry of War. I dare not take credit.”

“Well, I understand the strategy of opening up the sea, but I want to ask first, will there be any difficulties in recovering Shazhou and Hamiwei?”

Emperor Yonglong knew that the key was still related to the issue of money and food, but he had to figure out whether it was worth it or not, and not to lose it again, otherwise he would really become a laughing stock.

"Based on Master Chai and Master Yang, as well as my father and I, it is not a big problem to get Shazhou back, and it is not difficult to hold on to it. The only worry is the transportation of grain and grass. But with the grain and grass currently stored in Ganzhou, it is still possible. To support it, we only need to make up for it later..., but Hamiwei is slightly more difficult. According to Mr. Chai's opinion, it can be placed in the second half of next year. After the inland grain is transported and sufficient reserves are available, we will consider it. For now, Ye'er Due to the domestic situation of the Qiang Khanate, they are unable to interfere with the power of the Hamiwei..."

Feng Ziying introduced what she knew about the Yarkand Khanate and West Sea Mongolia one by one, and also talked about some of the ideas discussed with Chai Ke at that time: "Most of the West Sea Mongolian tribes migrated from the northern grasslands, like The same is true for Huoluochi, Zhentaiji and other tribes. They have always been at odds with the Tatar tribes on the northern grasslands. The West Sea has always produced good horses. If we can promote mutual trade with the Mongolian tribes in the West Sea, we will definitely be able to bring benefits to our dynasty. The abundant supply of horses can also balance the demand for Tatar horses in the northern mutual market, so that the Tatar tribes on the northern grasslands will not be overwhelmed..."

“…, with the opening up of trade routes in the Western Regions, tribute trade can be smoothed, and the court can also take this opportunity to straighten out the tribute mechanism and lay the foundation for further stabilizing the situation in the northwest in the future,…”

These deceptive words must also be said. This is not only to be heard by Emperor Yonglong, but also to be conveyed to the officials in the court through Emperor Yonglong.

The value and significance of some of the Northwest Campaign must be exaggerated, otherwise such endless logistics supplies of grain and grass will inevitably make those ministers who advocate reducing expenditures chatter endlessly.

Of course, Emperor Yonglong knew the significance of regaining the lost territory of the Ming Dynasty to himself. No matter which dynasty or generation, opening up territories and regaining lost territories was of extraordinary significance to the emperor, and the reputation of the people of Shilin would greatly increase. This is of great significance to the current society. It is of great significance to oneself.

So Emperor Yonglong had long made up his mind to get rid of this matter even if he sold a few more imperial estates, made a donation under the name of infamy, and drank poison to quench his thirst. Of course, it would be great if there were other solutions.

The strategy for opening up the sea and borrowing money mentioned by Chai Ke in his letter was not clear, or it was not clearly stated how to operate it or how to get the court ministers who had been firmly opposed to it to finally agree. He only said that Feng Ziying would elaborate on it. Commentary.

Emperor Yonglong had thought repeatedly before this, and felt that opening up the sea and borrowing money would be better than opening up donations. However, he had never figured out how to operate it so that the ministers in the court would agree without being stigmatized.

"Feng Qing, I understand everything you said. It is of great significance to open up the northwest. It can not only contain and suppress the Tatars, but also reduce the pressure on the imperial court in the three sides and four towns and Xuanda. However, the required food and salary is not a small amount. How to solve it? Chai Ke mentioned the establishment of a maritime shipping department to raise debt, and said that this was also your suggestion. There are many complex links, and Chai Ke must have mentioned them to Feng Qing. Does Feng Qing have a strategy on how to solve the problems here? "

Seeing the calm tone of Emperor Yonglong, Feng Ziying knew that the emperor had been tossing and turning in the past few days. He had thought about this problem countless times and was still unable to find a reasonable solution. That was why he wanted to do so urgently. Get answers from yourself.

"Reporting to your Majesty, I have indeed discussed it with Mr. Chai, and we also believe that if we adopt this strategy, we will not only be able to solve the food and salary expenditure for the northwest war, but also fill the gap in the food and salary expenditure of the entire Nine Borders, including Ji Liao, and even follow it. As time goes by, there will be more leftover to meet the needs of the sea!"

Feng Ziying's words shocked Emperor Yonglong. He couldn't help but stand up, leaned forward slightly, and stared at Feng Ziying: "There is no joke before you. Feng Qing must not say big words just to please me. I don't like this." .”

"There is no joke before you! How dare I be so presumptuous in front of the emperor? Naturally, I have to be somewhat sure before I dare to take this step!" Feng Ziying answered unceremoniously and went up.

"Okay!" Emperor Yonglong was very excited, his eyes were shining brightly, he raised his hand and put it down, then he lightly hit the case with his palm and nodded heavily: "Feng Qing, tell me carefully, I am all ears!"

“In the past, debts were borrowed with land tax and salt tax as collateral, and these two items were the lifeblood of the imperial court’s annual fiscal revenue. Any slight discrepancy would cause turmoil between the government and the public and destabilize the people, so it has always been criticized by the government and the public,…”

Feng Ziying clarified the biggest problem in one sentence: "But this time the debt was borrowed, the court did not use land tax and salt tax as collateral, but used the foreign trade tax collected after the establishment of the Municipal Shipping Department as collateral! Therefore, there is no need to worry about endangering The imperial court’s wealth and income are fundamental, so naturally no one can say anything.”

Emperor Yonglong certainly knew this. Since the newly established tax was used as a mortgage, of course no one could tell what it was. But the question was, would the merchants accept this mortgage?

"I think the emperor should also know that although the imperial court has a maritime ban, it is not strictly enforced in the coastal provinces. It can be said that the leakage is like a sieve. I have heard that there are eight hundred if not one thousand maritime merchants from Fujian and Zhejiang, and every family has them. With hundreds of millions of assets, they made their fortunes by sea trade, selling Dazhou porcelain, silk, and tea overseas, and importing overseas copper, spices, wood, and even silver into the country..."

"...But whether it is exported porcelain, silk and tea, or imported copper, spices, wood and silver, the emperor thinks about it, how many people in the countryside can use these things? These things are different from ordinary things. The people have little to do with it, but use it extravagantly. To set up this new tax on such things, especially import and export trade from overseas, there is no point in trying to benefit the people! If we really want to talk about one or two, that is Let those maritime merchants who have been smuggling for many years and the merchants who want to participate in maritime trade in the future fulfill their obligations to the imperial court’s nine-border defense!”

I have something to do at home, so I’m a little late, and I’m working **** typing.

　　

 (End of this chapter)