Zhu Youxiao didn't know whether he should be disappointed or happy. This gentry, Kong Yansheng, the largest gentry in Shandong, was so popular with the people.

Coupled with the status of this Kong Yansheng Gongzi, Zhu Youxiao seemed to have felt the key to implementing the integrated food supply of officials and gentry in Shandong East. If this Kong Yansheng Gong took the lead in supporting him, he would definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort. But if he did not support him, it would take a lot of effort to move away from this stubborn stone blocking the way.

When Zhu Youxiao returned to his imperial boat, Sun Chengzong, Ma Shiying and Yuan Keli had already arrived at him.

In addition to Sun Chengzong, it was the first time that Zhu Youchao Ma Shiying and Yuan Keli met. These two figures who left a strong mark in the history of the late Ming Dynasty were also a little uneasy after saluting Zhu Youxiao like ordinary people.

"The three of you are tired of carriages along the way. Thank you for your hard work. Wang Chengen, give them seats!"

After Zhu Youxiao said this, he gave Wu Jin a wink. Wu Jin understood and walked over to whisper to his capable confidant. The Dongchang man came out of the cabin and shouted in a low voice: "Be careful, if someone trespasses within ten steps, he will kill him!"

Here, Zhu Youxiao asked Li Mingrui and Wang Chengen to find a seat for themselves, and six kings and ministers gathered around and started a secret conversation.

"You know the purpose of meeting you here. The people in the capital are so irritating. Only when we take advantage of this southern tour, we can talk about the next thing. We have been angry with you before. You can talk about your own ideas first."

As Zhu Youxiao said that, he picked up a cup of hot tea and blew the boiling air: "Teacher, come first, start a good start."

Sun Chengzong blew the wind and sand in the northwest for several months, his skin became a little sallow. In addition, he was wearing a blue shirt and cloth, so he looked like an old farmer.

At this time, he stood up and bowed to Zhu Youxiao and handed a volume to Wang Chengen:

"Your Majesty, Qin is not as good as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hu and Guang, and there are not many famous gentry and officials, and the good land is mostly concentrated in the hands of rich peasants and elderly families;

This book is the record of the court income of the old ministers based on the fish scale book and yellow book in previous years and on-site inspections on the court;

During the Wanli period, Zhang Jiangling was in charge of the cabinet and implemented it for a period of time. The Wei minister also compared the taxes of that year with the records of the 35th year of Wanli to the seventh year of Tianqi afterwards;

It was found that if taxes are levied based on the taxes being distributed to the acres, the taxes of the imperial court could increase by more than three times compared with the highest record since Wanli, and those who are exempt from taxes can also reach 50% of the total population in Qin."

After all, he was a capable minister and an official who did things in detail. Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but affirm Sun Chengzong's words in his heart, and asked again: "Although Guanzhong is poor, there are many wealthy families, and many are related to border troops or in the court. You have to take on a lot of relationships. If you have any difficulties at that time, you can raise them at any time."

"yes!"

Sun Chengzong responded, and Yuan Keli also stood up.

Although Yuan Keli looked full of silver hair, his waist was standing straight. From the calluses at his tiger's mouth, he could tell that he had held a knife and went to the battlefield. He was obviously not a civil servant who only knew how to talk about war on paper.

"I am different from other places. I have also conducted investigations on the gentry in the eastern part of Shandong and found that because Shandong is fond of fame and fortune and is also a hometown of Confucius and Mencius, there are many people who have always won the titles, so most of the fields are concentrated in the hands of these gentry, especially the four families of Confucius, Lin, He and Meng.

Among them, the largest acres of land in the Shenggong Mansion of Kong Yan occupied, but because all dynasties have treated it preferentially and did not impose labor taxes, many of them have contributed. Although the territory of Shandong and East is considered a wealthy place, the court can collect taxes but is not as good as that of southwestern provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan."

Zhu Youxiao nodded deeply. Shandong Nai's Grand Canal has a developed water system, but the taxes it collects are indeed less than those in relatively poor provinces, especially since the late Ming Dynasty. What Yuan Keli said is reasonable, and it can be seen that as long as the Kong family is handled, it will be much easier.

At this time, Zhu Youxiao looked at Ma Shiying again. Ma Shiying's face was a little fair. Although she was almost forty years old, she looked only thirty years old. Her beard was short under her jaw. When she smiled, her mouth was exposed and her teeth were like the treacherous minister on the stage, and she looked very treacherous.

But no one expected that this seemingly treacherous official chose to sacrifice his life for his country when a large number of so-called upright people surrendered to the Tartars. I really don’t know why such a treacherous minister who was useless and corrupt would still do such a move. After all, many innocent ministers did not do this.

Perhaps, there is only one fact, that is, Ma Shiying may not be a gentleman, but he is definitely not as unbearable as the Donglin Party wrote.

History has always been written by victors. I am afraid that these Donglin Party who defected to the Qing Dynasty would not leave any good words when recording this strong enemy that caused their Donglin Party to be exhausted. They would do their best to belittle them. The people in later generations who would almost know that Ma Shiying was a treacherous minister.

"I have also made an estimate of the goods of various inspection departments and passport caravans at various places and various types of businesses in prefectures and county towns. Among them, the goods transiting from Fengyang alone are no less than 10 million taels per month, and the money operated in inns, teahouses, wineries, cloth grains, oils and medicines in various prefectures and county towns is no less than one million in even the worst counties. If commercial taxes are really imposed in Fengyang and the quarantine is set, the income of the national treasury should be more than ten million taels per year."

After Ma Shiying finished speaking, Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli took a breath and couldn't help but look at Ma Shiying.

Not only these two people, but even the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet at this time, Li Mingrui felt that Ma Shiying was bragging. Just collecting commercial taxes in Fengyang can generate more than 10 million taels of income, which is directly comparable to the treasury income. If the commercial tax collection quota is increased across the country and the checkpoints are set up in the thoroughfares of various provinces, then the financial problems that have been difficult for the Ming Dynasty for decades will not be a problem.

However, Zhu Youxiao himself was Wubo of the ancient Jing. He naturally knew very well about the folk wealth accumulated by this ancient empire. In his opinion, Ma Shiying actually made a conservative estimate.

Fengyang is not only a transit place for trade in goods between the north and the south, but also a transit place for goods between the east and the west. Its economic scale should not be just a scale of tens of millions per month. In this era when bulk trade is often tens of millions of taels, no one can tell how much money there are in the people and the hands of the court flowing into the pockets of gentry who play the role of merchants.

"It seems that you are all full of confidence, but I have to make it clear to you. Although the prospects for this pilot reform are good, the obstacles encountered are also great. You have to be prepared. But what I can guarantee is that as long as I am still in power for a day, you can start and end well. If I am not here for a day, I will leave a will to ensure that you and your family are worry-free."

Zhu Youxiao's words moved these three officials from the border, and the three hurriedly asked Zhu Youxiao to rest assured. They were mentally prepared since they decided to be the pioneer army of reform, not to mention that they were also vested interests. Now that they made such a choice, they were naturally not greedy for wealth and reputation, but just a sense of mission that arises after many years of visiting the local area and witnessing the tragic situation of countless people.

In addition, there are now women in the palace who have conceived dragon seeds for Your Majesty, which undoubtedly makes their beliefs more firm. With Your Majesty's Spring and Autumn, if you have no children, why worry about the Ming Dynasty's failure to revitalize its national strength?

Chapter 189: Zhu Youxiao sent people from the East Factory to protect and let Yuan Keli investigate the case

Zhu Youxiao naturally not only used the warm pillows of these three border officials to carry out reforms. Before promising that he would always stand behind them, Zhu Youxiao also promised that the increase in the future would be attributed to local autonomy. This would be a disguised benefit to them. Once they have their own small treasury, they can naturally increase their income.

Especially Ma Shiying, the reason why he strongly supported Zhu Youxiao to increase commercial tax revenue in Fengyang and to open the lijin system was that he wanted to increase a small treasury for himself. Otherwise, he would not have deliberately lowered the total value of the actual monthly circulating goods in Fengyang area, so that he could intercept a portion of the commercial tax silver for his own use in the future.

Now that His Majesty personally promised that the tax and silver increased can be kept at a certain amount in the local area, this undoubtedly admits the intention of letting them establish a small treasury in the local area.

Although Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli did not have as much thought as Ma Shiying, they had to admit that giving local governments a certain degree of financial autonomy was indeed much more convenient in dealing with emergency government affairs. They could not only expect the court to allocate money when encountering natural disasters.

In addition to expressing his full support to the three and giving them certain military and political autonomy, Zhu Youxiao also asked the Dongchang to send his capable confidants to the governor's offices in Shaanxi, Fengyang and Shandong.

On the one hand, it is to protect the safety of the three people. After all, no one can guarantee whether those vested interests will take risks and engage in assassination to intimidate officials who want to make achievements; on the other hand, it is also used as one's own eyes and ears. After all, these three governors will have greater power than other governors in the future, and as emperors, they must be wary of themselves.

Not long after Sun Chengzong and Ma Shiying met Zhu Youxiao, they had to rush back immediately to start reforms, while Yuan Keli was not in a hurry to leave. He has just been appointed as the governor of Shandong. In addition to implementing the new policy of collecting food into one official and gentry in Shandong, he naturally had to accompany Zhu Youxiao to inspect the people's conditions in Shandong.

"You came just right. I have a case here, but I'm afraid you, the governor, will handle it personally. According to him, the officials of the prefectural government office ignored him." Zhu Youxiao said that, and ordered Wang Chengen to call the old man named Kong Zhiqi.

Yuan Keli didn't know what the big case was, but he actually worked for his Majesty to inquire about it himself, and did not dare to underestimate him for a while. He heard from His Majesty that it was because the case was not accepted by the state government office, so he was even more sure that the case must be quite large.

At this time, the old man Kong Zhiqi came over and saw the emperor Zhu Youxiao and an official wearing a red robe and an official uniform were about to kneel down, but Zhu Youxiao immediately stopped him and asked Kong Zhiqi to tell Yuan Keli about his daughter's disappearance, and said: "Old man, don't worry, this is the largest parent official on the ground in the east of Shandong. He will not ignore your business."

After hearing this, Kong Zhiqi also told him everything about when his daughter went to the Gong Gong's Mansion to work as a short-term worker, when he went to the county and prefecture government offices, and even the branch guard yamen, no official was willing to make decisions about him.

Yuan Keli didn't expect that what His Majesty personally inquired was just a simple case of missing population, so he didn't think it was too difficult. In the Ming Dynasty, where the household registration management system was very strict, even when the system collapsed in the late Ming Dynasty, a weak woman without a path would not go far unless an accident happened.

However, since His Majesty had inquired, he could not ignore it, so he assured Zhu Youxiao: "Please rest assured, my husband will definitely go back to investigate the case and find the whereabouts of his daughter after he returns."

"Very good," Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, Wu Jin also came here and reported: "Your Majesty, Yuan Chonghuan has been buried. I don't know what to do about it. Should I bury it on the spot or transport it back to his hometown."

"Why do you have to fall back to your roots like this? We are almost at Ji'nan City, so we buried him at the pier outside Ji'nan City, so that everyone from south to north can see what this person will end up with to warn the world!"

After Zhu Youxiao said this, Wu Jin had to do it, and Yuan Keli couldn't say anything. Mao Wenlong was the general he promoted. Now that his Majesty was because Mao Wenlong killed Yuan Chonghuan, he didn't know whether he should plead or support His Majesty to do so. Since he couldn't make a decision, he would simply remain silent.

When Wu Jinzhe was looking for a grave to bury Yuan Chonghuan, Zhu Youxiao's imperial boat had already reached the boundary of Ji0 City.

At this time, outside the city of Jinan, countless officials and gentry were waiting outside the city. Among them, a fat man with big ears was wearing a python robe and a duke pheasant tail crown, Kong Yan Shenggong Kong Yinzhi, who was wearing a duke's pheasant tail crown, was particularly noticeable.

Zhu Youxiao, accompanied by Yuan Keli, the governor of Shandong, got off the ship first. Following him were naturally the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Li Mingrui, the Chief Secretary of the Sili Supervisor Wang Chengen, the commander of the Imperial Guards and the officers and soldiers of each battalion.

These officials and gentry hurriedly prayed to Zhu Youxiao, who was shouting for long live. After Zhu Youxiao received their tribute, he walked straight to the red carpet with loess. At this time, the officials of the Shandong Governor and the Censor came, and even the military officers who were commanding followed.

However, Zhu Youxiao asked with some angrily: "Didn't you have ordered your local officials not to care about my southern tour? Why do you waste your manpower and financial resources so much to repair this imperial road for me?"

At this time, Shandong governor Gu Tingzhuo hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, these are not done by ministers, but are actually the Holy Duke Kong Yan respects His Majesty. He donated 200,000 silver to build it. The same is true for the cannons and singing and singing along the way."

Zhu Youxiao said oh, then smiled at Kong Yinzhi beside him, and said, "Thank you, Yan Shenggong."

Kong Yinzhi smiled at Zhu Youxiao with a flattering look on his face: "This is what a minister should do. Your Majesty, you are the king. It is only natural for those who are filial and loyal to Your Majesty. Your Majesty said this to be a shame to the weak minister."

Zhu Youxiao had to admit that this life of Kong Yinzhi being respectful to him was really hard to hate him.

However, before Zhu Youxiao understood the reaction of the Kong family to the joint payment of food by officials and gentry, he had not decided whether to touch Kong Yinzhi.

Kong Yinzhi didn't know what His Majesty was thinking now, but he also knew that since His Majesty was here, he had to flatter His Majesty, at least not offend His Majesty for this.

For example, refugees and beggars in the city, Kong Yinzhi also personally hosted the porridge donation shed to save these people at the bottom. After entering Ji0 City, Zhu Youxiao also saw these scenes and couldn't help but praise Kong Yinzhi: "Kong Yansheng Gong has made great contributions to the benefit of the countryside."

"What I do is not as good as Your Majesty does, but just to do your best to help your neighbors."

Kong Yinzhi said with a smile.

Not long after, an emergency sound of horse hooves suddenly came from behind Zhu Youxiao. Wu Jinxun came to Zhu Youxiao as if he was like a wind, and said with his ears: "Your Majesty, when we were digging a pit to bury Yuan Chonghuan, we accidentally found a female corpse. Her voice, appearance, smile and appearance were somewhat similar to the characteristics of his daughter described by the old man Kong, both of which had moles on the eyebrows."
Chapter completed!