The ministers in the palace were still arguing over whether the maritime ban should be relaxed or tightened, but Emperor Jiajing, sitting high on the dragon throne, ignored them and flipped through the book in his hand, looking for the sentence that the ministers had just cited in their argument.
Huang Jin, who was serving nearby, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the emperor's anger gradually subsided.
Soon, Emperor Jiajing turned to the passage quoted by the ministers. After reading it, he pursed his lips with some disdain, then closed the book and watched the ministers' argument with interest.
It’s better to fight. If you don’t, how can I control you
Under the gaze of Emperor Jiajing, these ministers became even more excited, their faces flushed and their necks thickened as they cited all kinds of supporting materials for their advocacy of strict prohibition or relaxation of the ban.
"Whether it's the border troubles or the Japanese invasion of our dynasty today, as well as the recent rebellion by the unruly people in Shandong and other places, the reason is actually related to the word "money". Without money, the border troops' food and logistics are tight and they cannot resist the Mongolian Altan; without money, the coastal armaments are tight and they cannot wipe out the Japanese pirates; without money, they cannot provide disaster relief in times of natural disasters such as floods, droughts and locusts... If our dynasty had abundant money and food, the border troubles, Japanese invasion and other minor problems would be solved, and under the wise leadership of Your Majesty, peace would be achieved." An official in Yan Song's camp said loudly.
"What do you think?" An official from Li Mo's side spoke up.
"Reopen the Maritime Customs and establish a tax system."
The official from Yan Song's camp said this in a decisive tone, and then he became more and more excited. "The tax revenue from the maritime trade is twice that of other systems. As for the Southern Song Dynasty, it was in a remote corner, and the fertile land in the north was occupied by the barbarians. However, why did the Southern Song Dynasty last for more than a hundred years? It was because the tax revenue from the maritime trade was quite high, which provided blood transfusion for the Southern Song Dynasty. As far as I know, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the two maritime trade offices in Fujian and Guangdong alone earned 2 million strings of interest each year. If all the maritime trade revenues were collected, the annual interest would be tens of millions strings of interest. The maritime trade revenue alone could double the tax revenue of our dynasty."
"Ridiculous. It has long been a consensus that the Japanese pirates have brought disaster to the Maritime Customs. No matter how much you talk, for the safety of our dynasty, the Maritime Customs must not be reopened." Li Mo flicked his sleeves and accused with a dark face.
When Li Mo got angry, some people on Yan Song's side couldn't help but feel a little scared. Li Mo was the Minister of Personnel, holding the power of official promotion, and even Yan Song gave him some courtesy. What's more, it's us.
"The profits from the maritime trade are the greatest. If it is managed properly, the profits can easily reach millions. Isn't it better than taking it from the people? The Southern Song Dynasty was relatively weak, and the maritime trade did not harm the country's security, let alone the profits from our army."
Others were afraid of Li Mo, but Yan Shifan was not afraid at all. As soon as Li Mo finished speaking, he sneered and retorted.
Emperor Jiajing listened attentively at this moment. He was very interested in the income of the Song Dynasty's Maritime Customs that the minister just mentioned. The annual income of the Ming Dynasty was only more than 20 million guan. I didn't expect that the Southern Dynasty, which only occupied the south, could have an annual income of tens of millions of guan, which was almost equivalent to all the taxes of the Ming Dynasty throughout the year. What if my dynasty also opened a Maritime Customs
Thinking of this, Emperor Jiajing's eyes lit up. Even if the taxes were increased by half, let alone doubled, it would be much easier for him to govern the country. In addition, if the taxes were increased, there would be more money to make elixirs.
Therefore, the more Jiajing thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. In order to get more accurate data of the Southern Song Dynasty Maritime Customs, Jiajing wrote another small note and asked Huang Jin to send it to the Hanlin Academy. He asked the Hanlin Academy to prepare and present the relevant books on the revenue of the Southern Song Dynasty Maritime Customs and the annual revenue of the Southern Song Dynasty.
It was the same eunuch who had just delivered the note. This time, he hurried to the Hanlin Academy again with the note written by Emperor Jiajing.
When the eunuch returned to the Imperial Academy with the note, Yuan Wei's eyes were crooked.
In Yuan Wei's opinion, this note must be like the one written by Emperor Jiajing last time, "Sweet and Sour Fish is Better than Rice". It is another note praising Zhu Ping'an. It is natural for him to be praised for finding the book the emperor was looking for so quickly.
However, when Yuan Wei actually saw the words on the note, he couldn't help but laugh.
good
The note read, "Looking for information about the Southern Song Dynasty's Maritime Customs Office."
This requires looking for classics again.
Well, Zhu Ping'an was lucky just now. He happened to have seen the two books that the emperor was looking for. Not only did he escape danger, but he also made a great contribution.
Humph, this time we are looking for information about the Maritime Customs during the Southern Song Dynasty. This is not that easy. The books in the library are so vast that I don’t believe that you, Zhu Ping’an, have ever seen this kind of information!
Let's see what you, Zhu Ping'an, can do this time? ! The emperor's book did not specify this time, let's see what you, Zhu Ping'an, can do.
Looking at the words on the small note, Yuan Wei finally felt relieved. The depression was swept away, and was replaced by a deep sense of comfort.
Like last time, Yuan Wei once again followed the eunuch to the library where Zhu Ping'an was, and many Hanlin officials followed them. Almost all the Hanlin officials who had done good things last time came again this time.
"Shibosi, let me think about it. It seems that there is a book called "Sea Chart and Geomancy" that records this. I just don't know which corner of the library this book is in now." A Hanlin official suggested to Zhu Ping'an after Xiao Huangmen gave him a small note.
"I also remember that there was a bound volume of "A Brief History of Taxation in the Southern Song Dynasty" that seemed to have a record of the Maritime Customs Taxation Bureau..."
"There is also a book called 'Nan Song Food and Goods Records'. I seem to have seen it on the second floor of the library in my early years, but it has been a long time and I can't remember which bookshelf it was on. I only remember that it was on the bookshelf on the east side of the second floor..."
From time to time, someone offered suggestions to Zhu Ping'an, and soon many books were recommended. Although many books were recommended, no one knew where the recommended books were lying in the corner of the library.
Yuan Wei looked at this scene and smiled secretly. Yes, that's right, that's it.
"Thank you all, gentlemen. If you don't mind, please sit in the pavilion and have a cup of tea." Zhu Ping'an interrupted the voices of the Hanlin scholars who were recommending books, and invited them to sit in the library and have a cup of tea.
Have tea
Take us for granted, you are inviting us to tea now, but you will definitely ask us to help you find a book later. That’s not good, that’s not good.
So, the Hanlin scholars declined one after another.
Seeing this, Yuan Wei's lips blossomed even brighter.
However, before Yuan Wei's good mood could last, he saw Zhu Ping'an repeating the words and actions from last time, bowed, said thank you, and went back into the library.
This time, I also heard the footsteps of Zhu Ping'an coming up the stairs.
"Ahem, guess whether Lord Zhu has seen similar books by chance?"
The Hanlin scholars looked at each other, unable to accept it for a moment. One of them couldn't help but said something with a red face.
It's impossible, it can't be such a coincidence every time. It's lucky to be lucky once, how can he be lucky every time? Everyone agrees with this and thinks that Zhu Ping'an should, probably, not be so lucky this time. To be honest, it shouldn't happen again.
However, not long after, Zhu Ping'an came out holding a thick book.
Crow's mouth!
So, all the Hanlin officials turned their eyes to the Hanlin official who had spoken just now. They didn't expect that Zhu Ping'an could find the book so easily as he said.
"This volume of Yongle Encyclopedia contains detailed information about the Maritime Customs Office of the Southern Song Dynasty. I have put a bookmark here. From the bookmark point onwards are the records of the Maritime Customs Office of the Southern Song Dynasty. Thank you, sir." Zhu Ping'an handed the book to the eunuch with both hands, pointing to a bookmark with a necklace on it in the thick book and reminded the eunuch.
"Thank you, Lord Zhu. In this case, I will go and report." The eunuch took the book handed to him by Zhu Ping'an and said politely, then carefully took the thick book and said goodbye.
"Oh, I guessed that there must be a record of the Maritime Customs in the Yongle Encyclopedia, so I tried to find it according to the Hongwu Zhengyun, and I really found it. That volume of the Yongle Encyclopedia happened to have a record of the Maritime Customs, from the organizational structure to the annual income."
Zhu Ping'an explained this to the curious Hanlin officials outside the door.
Uh, the Yongle Encyclopedia. Yes, the Yongle Encyclopedia covers everything, so how could there not be the Maritime Customs Office
Upon hearing this, all the Hanlin officials suddenly realized that this was actually possible and were impressed by Zhu Ping'an's quick reaction.
Yuan Wei once again walked back to his seat with a gloomy face, his face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. Such a kid can no longer stay in the Hanlin Academy!
If Emperor Jiajing was somewhat surprised by finding the book just now, he was very surprised when the eunuch returned to the Xiyuan Hall to report with the volume of Yongle Encyclopedia. He had never expected that the efficiency of the Hanlin Academy had become so outstanding. It was completely different from before.
If the last time he searched for a book only piqued Emperor Jiajing's interest, then this time it was enough to arouse Emperor Jiajing's interest. After reading the record of the annual revenue of the Maritime Customs in the Yongle Encyclopedia, Emperor Jiajing curiously asked Huang Jin to call the eunuch to ask him a few questions.
Facing the Jiajing Emperor's inquiries, the eunuch did not hide a single thing and told the Jiajing Emperor everything about the Hanlin Academy, the library, Zhu Ping'an, and what he had seen and heard.
"Interesting, interesting, he turned out to be my number one scholar. Huang Ban passed on the imperial decree, summoning Zhu Ping'an to the emperor's presence. I will reward him well." After hearing this, Emperor Jiajing smiled and spoke. (To be continued.)