Chapter 408 Volume C Secret Investigation Review

 East study room.

Emperor Yonglong was immersed in an inexplicable emotional state of mixed joy and anxiety.

The news that Feng Ziying brought to him was really touching. Even if he had learned some information from Chai Ke before, it was far less rich and colorful than what he got from talking with Feng Ziying.

Kaihai -bonds, and new words that have never been touched by franchisees, all made him feel very fresh and curious. Of course, the most interested or real benefit.

Perhaps you can get millions of taels of silver at once this time, and in the future, you can get no less than one million taels of income from the new tax of "Sea Tax" of the Shipping Department.

 This is a rough estimate given to him by Feng Ziying. Of course, Feng Ziying also made it clear to him that this may only be obtained after the scale of sea trade reaches a considerable level in a few years.

 The news fed back from all aspects is quite optimistic. Although scholars from the north and the south still have differences and opinions on the strategy of opening up the sea, the focus of the disagreements begins to focus more on the use of the debt income.

 This is a good phenomenon, which shows that everyone has subconsciously accepted the opening of the sea, and is focusing on the distribution of the benefits of opening the sea.

Zheng Jizhi, the Minister of Household Affairs, apparently got the news and asked to see him, but Emperor Yonglong did not intend to see him yet.

This guy has been clamoring to become an official. Emperor Yonglong had long been tired of him, but he was suffering from the lack of a more suitable person to take over, so he could only delay it again and again.

 But now that this guy got the news, he immediately became very excited and did not mention anything about becoming an official. It was obvious that he had some "intent" on the money obtained from this debt.

Emperor Yonglong also admitted that Zheng Jizhi may not be an excellent Hubu Shangshu, but he can be regarded as a barely qualified Hubu Shangshu.

As Feng Ziying said, an excellent Minister of Revenue should be good at both reducing expenditure and increasing revenue. Of course, this may be more of a cabinet matter, but the Minister of Revenue should propose more strategies to increase revenue to the cabinet and the emperor. , this is what an outstanding minister of household affairs does.

Zheng Jizhi did an unsatisfactory job in reducing expenditures, but made no achievements in increasing revenue. Even the Yonglong Emperor knew how to set up mine and tax supervisors in order to contribute to the increasingly depleted treasury of the Great Zhou Dynasty, even if he suffered infamy for this. But Zheng Jizhi was helpless.

In Feng Ziying’s view, the establishment of a mining and tax supervisor was not entirely wrong. The reason why it attracted so much infamy is due to many reasons, but the most important thing is that the establishment of this kind of tax and mine supervisor was due to Emperor Yonglong’s decree. It was established by sending internal servants, bypassing the cabinet and household department.

This is illegal in a sense, and the poor quality of the waiters directly leads to this evil effect being magnified countless times.

There are also other reasons stemming from the unscientific and arbitrary setting of commercial tax rates since the Ming Dynasty, which has made commercial tax in the eyes of many people a dispensable thing that even competes with the people. , and the interest groups involved—merchants and even business gangs—are often inextricably linked to many important ministers and officials in the DPRK, which will naturally amplify such objections and attitudes, or make them more intense.

 Emperor Yonglong has been in such an excited state for a long time.

In the past few years, he has almost always maintained a strict and orderly state, just to avoid being caught by others, but the current situation does not allow him to do nothing, which may also disappoint many people. Even abandon yourself.

So he tried to find measures that could avoid too much criticism, but also inspire people. However, this kind of thing is often rare, and almost all of it has something to do with money. Without money, you just have to do whatever you want. What can I do?

 But this time he finally waited.

No one thought that such an opportunity would be brought about by the rebellion in Ningxia Town. The trouble that originally made him almost grow old overnight turned into this. He had to pray secretly in the middle of the night. This is God's fault. Look after yourself and make your throne more stable.

　　Can't help but look at the memorial that Feng Ziying brought to the palace.

To be precise, it is not a memorial. Feng Ziying is not an official official yet and has no right to submit a memorial.

This should be an article with some suggestions on opening up the sea and raising debt. If nothing else happens, the next issue and even the next issue of "Internal Reference" will continue to publish related articles of this type.

After reading it carefully, Emperor Yonglong carefully chewed on its essence. The establishment of a maritime shipping department should not be limited to one or two places. Feng Ziying specifically explained this to Emperor Yonglong. It should not be limited to the north. For example, Denglai should To be included, maritime trade between North Korea and Japan should be taken seriously from the beginning.

 This made Emperor Yonglong very curious.

It is known that sea trade flourished in Fujian and Zhejiang, followed by Guangdong, Guangxi and Southern Zhili, and the main trade direction was Nanyang and the Western Yi people entrenched in Nanyang.

The maritime trade in Shandong was not developed. Emperor Yonglong once thought that it was because Feng Ziying was from Shandong that he considered his hometown. However, in order to balance the north and the south and win the support of northern scholars, it was also necessary to encourage sea trade in Shandong.

However, Feng Ziying pointed out in the article the importance of sea trade between Japan and North Korea. A relatively closed market can have huge acceptance capacity for porcelain, paper, tea, silk and other materials that Zhou Dynasty has a huge production capacity. At the same time, it comes from Japan. Copper and silver are the most scarce materials in the Great Zhou Dynasty. This kind of trade can greatly complement the needs of both parties and achieve balance.

Emperor Yonglong vaguely sensed Feng Ziying's intention, or ambition, reflected in his trade with Korea and Japan, which was to re-incorporate Japan and Korea into vassal states.

 This intention does not necessarily need to be realized through war in the early stage, and the current Zhou Dynasty does not have the financial resources to fight a war. However, the two sides can be more closely connected through complementary trade, and at the same time, it can also effectively eliminate the basis for the survival of Japanese pirates.

This made Emperor Yonglong couldn't help but feel excited and at the same time a little worried. This would be a quite grand plan, and the results may not be visible within three to five years, but it is worth fighting for.

  No king can ignore this feat that demonstrates the greatness of his country.

 Of course all this needs to be based on the naval fleet.

Emperor Yonglong also understood the reason why Feng Ziying wrote so vividly in this regard, that is, the plan to establish a naval fleet should also be included in it, and his vision should not be limited to the nine sides.

This kid's thoughts are not consistent with his father's thoughts. On the contrary, they are somewhat consistent with the views of those southern scholars. This makes Emperor Yonglong very interested. Of course, he does not believe that Feng Ziying can betray the northern scholars and fight with those southern scholars. Scholars were mixed together, which only showed that this young man's mind was never limited to one corner, but that he focused on the court.

 This boy is only sixteen years old!

While he was sighing with emotion, the chamberlain came and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Lu is here."

“Well, tell him to come in.” Emperor Yonglong stretched his body, stood up, and walked around with his hands behind his hands.

 “Wei Chen has met the emperor.” Lu Song always had that calm expression.

This is in line with the taste of Emperor Yonglong. If the superiors, especially the commanders of the Longjing Lieutenant, do not have any mind for the city, how can they control such a force, and how can they compete with the retreating Gu Cheng?

"How is the situation of the Feng family?" Emperor Yonglong asked directly without any nonsense.

"Well, what situation does the emperor want to ask about?" Lu Song was stunned for a moment and then said: "Is it Feng Tang, Feng Keng himself, or the Feng family..."

 “Let’s talk about Feng Tang first.” Emperor Yonglong hesitated for a moment before saying.

Lu Song then made an introduction to Feng Tang's situation, "As far as we know, Feng Tang has a good reputation in Jiubian, especially in Datong and Yulin. In Datong, the Feng family has been serving as officials here for a long time and has accumulated a lot of wealth." Feng Tang has gained quite a reputation and connections, and in Yulin, his performance may be compared with that of the previous commander-in-chief of Yulin, which made Feng Tang quite recognized by the Yulin Town soldiers. This is also one of the reasons why the Yulin Town soldiers performed so well in the Ningxia rebellion..."

"Feng Tang is a kind-hearted person but has a lot of authority. He is decisive in every important matter. He is good at using people. He likes to be good at fighting military generals.... Feng Tang is not a womanizer. He only has one wife, one concubine and two concubines in his family. Both his wives are Born by the Duan family in Datong, Feng Keng was born by his legitimate wife..."

Seeing that Emperor Yonglong's expression remained unchanged, Lu Song naturally understood what he meant.

"But Feng Tang was also fond of wealth. He collected a lot of money, silver and special products from merchants and generals under his command in Yulin Town. He even accepted the horses, leather goods, gold sand and other items sent by the Tatar tribes in the grassland. According to reports, As far as I know, the number of horses received from the Tatars in the steppe exceeded thirty, and more than ten of them were sent to the Feng Mansion in the capital..."

“In addition, the Feng family is also good at doing business. They have many businesses in Datong, Shandong and the capital, and they make a lot of money every year...”

At this time, Emperor Yonglong's face became a little more cheerful and he nodded slightly.

"However, Feng Tang is very scheming. The horses, leather goods, and gold sand sent by the Tatars on the grassland were all private gifts. He also gave tea, silk, porcelain and other items in return. As for the value..." Lu Song smiled He smiled and didn't say much, "In addition, he also reported this matter to Master Yang Heyang, in the name of deepening the relationship with Bu Shitu, Zhuli Tu and other departments, and making the conflict between Bu Shitu and Su Nang more serious. What's more, he also accepted a hundred catties of gold sand from Su Nang Tai Ji. It is said that Su Nang Tai Ji hoped that he could soften his cheeks in the court and win the recognition of the imperial court..."

At this time, Emperor Yonglong finally frowned, as if he was savoring it, "Then, have you found any results from your investigation into this matter?"

Lu Song also said helplessly: "Master Chai and Master Yang are all aware of this matter. Feng Tang believed that if he did not accept it, it would make Su Nangtai Ji suspicious, and suggested that if the imperial court conferred the title of King of Shunyi on Shitu, he could confer Su Su. Nangtai Ji is the Dragon and Tiger General, but Mrs. Zhongshun is the best policy to not teach her for the time being, to seduce her, divide and conquer her, and fight without stopping."

 (End of this chapter)