Chapter 88 The Imperial Court Cannot Do Without Master Yan

Prince Yu's Mansion.

All the officials in the court said that Prince Yu treated civil officials with favor, attached importance to culture and education, and was lenient and kind to his officials.

When the servant in front of the palace came to report, two ministers of the court and two masters of the palace had arrived.

Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui immediately went to the front hall from the back.

When Xu Jie, with a dark face, and Gao Gong, with a red face, walked around the screen wall and arrived at the front hall.

Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui said with a smile on his face: "The two masters have been busy with government affairs these days, and they are finally here today."

Xu Jie and Gao Gong were just about to bow and salute.

Zhu Zaigui said happily, "Master Yan hasn't come in the past two days. I really want to have a good chat with him."

This statement came out.

Xu Jie and Gao Gong were stunned on the spot and forgot to salute.

Zhu Zaigui was completely unaware and continued to speak: "This time the court owed salaries, which caused all officials to sit in protest at the Meridian Gate. If it weren't for the money that Master Yan sent to the inner court, I'm afraid the court would have fallen out by now."

In the front hall of Prince Yu's Mansion, there was only Zhu Zai's happy voice, and...

Xu Jie's face turned darker, and Gao Gong's turned redder.

The two people who had just had an argument now both felt suffocated again.

Only then did Zhu Zaigui realize that his two masters had not spoken a word yet.

He looked at the two of them: "Master Xu? Master Gao? Why aren't you talking?"

Zhu Zaigui's heart tightened.

Countless possibilities flashed through my mind, and I wondered if some disaster had happened somewhere in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Zaiqi hurriedly said, "But what happened? Should we call Master Yan over in the name of the Crown Prince to discuss the matter together?"

Boom!

The two gunshots finally hit Xu Jie and Gao Gong's hearts.

Xu Jie and Gao Gong, who had just blushed at each other, looked at each other silently.

I shouldn't have come to Prince Yu's Mansion today. I'm just asking for trouble.

But since both of them were already here, they could only invite Prince Yu into the hall.

Then Xu Jie said, "In reply to your Highness, the world is peaceful right now, and nothing has happened."

Zhu Zaigui breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the country was safe.

Gao Gong snorted, "Things are fine outside, but the court has no money to spend now. If things continue like this, not to mention the officials sitting in the Meridian Gate to demand their salaries, even the court won't be able to carry out several major tasks."

These are words of resentment on his part.

Zhu Zaigui was different from the past. When he heard about these difficulties, he looked worried.

He smiled and said, "Money, the court has indeed had a hard time these years. But this year, the situation is gradually getting better, and next year, there will be tens of millions of income coming from overseas.

Come to think of it, what my father said behind Yuxi Palace a few days ago does make sense.

It’s not just my father who can’t do without Master Yan, my Ming Dynasty can’t do without Master Yan either.”

I want to go home!
Gao Gong was stunned for a moment, his eyes wide open and his mouth open, looking at Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui who said this.

Strictly speaking, this prince is the student of himself and others.

He actually went further into the emperor's words.

So in the final analysis, your Zhu family is relying on Yan Runwu to do your work.

We are all useless people.

Gao Gong was so angry. Xu Jie was completely numb at this moment.

Suppress the haze in your heart.

Old Xu looked up at Prince Yu and said, "Your Highness is right. The most important thing for the court right now is how to get some money and how to continue to do things in the local area."

Zhu Zaigui nodded repeatedly: "Master Xu is right. We can't really go to the point where we have no money and can't do anything. But given the current political situation, what ideas do you have to help the court temporarily solve the difficult situation?"

When Prince Yu asked this question, Gao Gong, feeling jealous, silently glanced at Old Xu.

After Xu Jie pondered for a moment, he said, "The people have suffered hardships. In addition, the wars in the north and south have been going on for a long time. In recent years, the two capitals and thirteen provinces have also suffered from disasters. We can no longer ask the people to tighten their belts. The court has increased taxes on them.

However, this year, Master Yan mentioned in the Holy Week that increasing silk production in the southeast and marketing it overseas is a good idea to prohibit private enterprises and raise the price of silk sold overseas.

I think, can we learn from this and open a few more government-run businesses in the southeast? Such as southeast cotton cloth, tea, porcelain, etc.? "

Zhu Zaigui listened carefully and nodded immediately: "Master Xu's suggestion is a good idea, but how to implement it specifically? If it is feasible, the two masters can report it to His Majesty for information."

Xu Jie pondered and said, "But we can't completely copy the silk method. If everything is run by the government, it will be suspected that the court is competing with the people for profits, and then the court's dignity and face will be criticized by the people.

Therefore, I think it would be possible for the imperial court to ask the merchants in the southeast to unite and combine their goods, and then negotiate the price of the goods with foreign merchants, and the imperial court would collect commercial taxes from them.

In this way, the people will be rich, the court will be rich, and there will be no taxation on the people, which will only add to their burdens. "

After saying this, Xu Jie became quiet.

In fact, what he said in front of Prince Yu today had been brewing in his mind for a long time.

The reason why I am bringing this up now is because of Gao Gong’s anger and dissatisfaction today.

Today, the Yan Party is still the most powerful party in the court.

As the second in command of the cabinet, I still need to unite the court officials as much as possible.

Secondly, Xu Jie himself truly felt the volatility of the current government, which made it difficult for him to see how the Ming Dynasty would develop in the future.

So he needs to come forward and speak out at this time.

Although Ci Fu is inferior, he can't always be a clay statue of a speechless Bodhisattva.

Gao Gong listened carefully to Lao Xu's advice and pondered and analyzed it for a long time.

Then he said, "This matter can be done. If it is done well, it can bring more money to the court. But we cannot entrust such matters to Yan... Shidu again."

Zhu Zaiqi raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

Gao Gong coughed lightly and explained, "Your Majesty, Shidu Yan has a heavy burden on his shoulders right now.

The disaster victims in Changping have not been resettled yet. I heard that he was going to do something in Changping, and even said that he wanted to make the lives of these disaster victims in Changping better than those of the people in Beijing. This is not easy.

There are also several issues in the southeast, which are all important matters for the court. If the burden is placed on Yan Shidu at this time, even a man of iron will be exhausted. "

After Lao Gao's explanation, it seemed that he was truly considering Yan Shaoting.

He looked at Prince Yu with certainty.

"Your Majesty, you don't want Master Yan to get tired."

Zhu Zaigui's face tightened: "We must not let Master Yan get exhausted by government affairs! Since both masters think this can be done, then we will report it to His Majesty for judgment."

Seeing Prince Yu also nodded in agreement, Xu Jie felt relieved.

If I want to do this, without the consent and support of Prince Yu, I will need to explain and convince everyone in the court.

With Prince Yu's nod, there will be much less trouble in the court, and the key point can be placed in the southeast.

Xu Jie immediately bowed and nodded.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

(End of this chapter)