my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 560

Chapter 560

Perhaps it was because of too many messages received in one day.

That night, in this post station in a foreign land, Xia Xuan couldn't sleep anyway.

What was imagining in my mind was completely different from what I had seen and heard since I was a child.

At this moment, he couldn't help thinking of another person.

Deng Changli.

In fact, Xia Xuan didn't know anything about Deng Changli's life.

But judging from his speech and behavior, he should not be an ordinary mountain person.

It's just... Having said that, he doesn't look like a pure scholar.

It's like a freak who was forcibly kneaded together. He has the side of a scholar, but he is no different from the common people he has seen.

It's just that Deng Changli gave him a good impression.

In other words... in the environment of the post station, the whole station seems to have such an atmosphere. Many people may have different personalities, but the temperament they display is generally similar to that of Deng Changli.

I don't know if it's because of what I've heard and seen all day, Xia Xuan, who wanted to retreat a little, was determined to continue.

Strange to say, the influence of atmosphere on people is like this.

If a 'weird' person like Deng Changli was in Xia Xuan's circle of friends in the past, everyone would laugh at him and be ridiculous.

But here, it seems that everything is so natural, even Xia Xuan herself has a trace of respect.

The next day, I still continued to deliver the letter with the parcel.

This time the place was different, and it seemed that Xia Xuan didn't know much about the regulations of the post office, so along the way, Deng Da emphasized a few things.

What they are doing today is the rugged mountain road. The official road of Ming Dynasty only serves to connect the big city with the provincial capital and the capital. The rest of the roads are mostly made by people.

You can even rely on the width of the roads you walk out, the degree of compaction of the soil, or even the growth of weeds, and you can roughly judge the number of people ahead.

Deng Da's temperament is open-minded, at this time he said: "Don't think that walking like this every day is very boring, but after walking for a long time, there are also many interesting places... Pingtan was just an unheard of place in the past. It’s really not worth mentioning, but can you imagine that this place is like you and me, and you can’t finish it in a few days? Can you imagine that there are so many people of all colors here?”

After a pause, Deng Da said with some emotion: "Traveling thousands of miles and reading thousands of books, maybe you and I may not be able to read as well as others, but here, traveling thousands of miles, we can do it."

Xia Xuan also began to talk about sex gradually.

The two briefly talked about their encounters. Of course, they were just talking about it. Xia Xuan didn't dare to talk about his father Xia Yuanji. In fact, yesterday, Xia Xuan felt unbearable pain in his muscles and bones, especially his legs. When I returned to the post station, it was like pouring lead, but today...it was a little better.

But seeing Deng Da walking like flying, he couldn't help but sigh.

But at this time in the capital, it was already gradually entering winter.

The weather was getting colder, and even a little breeze was biting. In Wenyuan Pavilion, charcoal basins were involuntarily rising up, with heat, which finally made people feel a lot better.

In fact, when the new Wenyuan Pavilion was built, Zhang Anshi thought of directly building an earth dragon for the Wenyuan Pavilion, that is, to hollow out the building, and then burn charcoal every winter. almost.

It's just that... this earth dragon was only built after Daming moved to Beijing in history, and it was called the Nuan Pavilion.

The problem is, if Zhang Anshi creates an earth dragon here, I'm afraid Zhu Di will know that he will strangle Zhang Anshi to death.

Each charcoal basin is emitting heat at this time.

But here in Wenyuan Pavilion, they are finally beaming.

It seems that the hard work for several months has not been in vain.

The results of the memorials sent from all over the country are quite gratifying.

The latest is the report sent by Beiping. There used to be [-] households in Beiping Mansion. Now, [-] hidden households have been traced, and the number of households has increased to [-].

And this represents an increase of one-fourth in the tax-paying population of Beiping Prefecture.

In addition, the same is true for other prefectures and counties. The most remarkable achievement is Ganzhou Prefecture, which has increased from 13 households to [-] households.

Xie Jin and the others got together, and they were all cheerful. When Zhang Anshi was drinking tea with them, they were still talking about this matter.

Zhang Anshi looked at the joyful expressions on everyone's faces, and couldn't help but ask: "The hidden households found out...is it just the tip of the iceberg?"

Zhang Anshi's basin of cold water has long been expected by the scholars of Zhuwenyuan Pavilion.

Yang Rong patiently explained: "On the one hand, His Majesty was furious, and the imperial court pressed him hard. On the other hand, the Metropolitan Procuratorate also sent a large number of inspectors to supervise everywhere. Naturally, there may be fish that slip through the net. The world is so big, There are so many people involved, if we believe that there is no fish that escaped the net, then it is really a dead body, and it is not worthy of being a grand scholar."

Yang Rong explained it very straightforwardly, even they themselves did not believe that these people could really find out all the hidden households.

Zhang Anshi said: "In this case, how many hidden households are still hidden, isn't Your Majesty going to find out all the hidden households?"

Several great scholars looked at each other in blank dismay, and then even Xie Jin couldn't help but picked up the teacup and said, "That's what I said, but if the court wants to do this, it won't work."

Zhang Anshi's expression became serious, and he said, "Please give Xie Gong some advice."

Xie Jin then said: "The essence of the imperial court is to do things well within a certain range. There is a saying that when the water is clear, there will be no fish. This is not to excuse anyone. As for one thing, you It may only cost 10 taels of silver if you work to 300%, but if you want to do it to 500%, then you may need to spend a million taels of silver. It requires more effort, manpower and material resources, so...the cost may be [-] million or even [-] million taels. As for...as His Highness said, if you want to do it to [-]%...then ..."

Xie Jin smiled here, and then said: "Then...it may be tens of millions of taels, and the various patrols and other manpower that need to be used may be that tens of millions of taels of money and food are not enough...In this way, it is the world All the hidden households have been found out, but the problem is... In this way, the imperial court and all the state governments in the world will be unable to do other things, and the taxes collected from the hidden households are far from what the imperial court wants The cost paid, so ah... Many things, being able to do [-]% to [-]% like what they are doing now, is actually considered perfect and beautiful. If you really want to catch the water until it is clear, there will be no fish. It must be impossible, but it is really impossible Why."

Zhang Anshi narrowed his eyes and said: "Now I understand, the closer to perfection, the cost will not increase in a straight line, but a geometric surge."

"..."

There was a deathly silence in the study.

They don't understand Zhang Anshi's words.

Zhang Anshi thought for a while, and said: "But the problem is, how can you be sure that this is [-] to [-]%?"

"This..." Xie Jin had no words. In fact, Xie Jin and the others were also a little uncertain.

After pondering for a moment, it was Jin Youzi who said: "The matter is so serious, the parents and officials of the various state capitals would not dare to be perfunctory at this time. Of course, in order to facilitate this matter, the Metropolitan Procuratorate sent a lot of inspectors... ..."

Zhang Anshi said: "It makes sense."

Xie Jin immediately said: "My lords, sort out this hidden household first, and go to see you later, and report this matter. In any case, the increase in the number of household registrations in the yellow book this time is a miracle."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was pulled back from the heaviness just now.

At this time, even Hu Guang was very happy, and he said excitedly: "Yes, yes, yes, hey... this time... the emperor's grandson made a great contribution, if he hadn't uncovered the matter in Nanchang mansion , How can my Ming Dynasty increase so many people, the number of households has doubled throughout the dynasties, which is a sign of the prosperity of the dynasty."

At noon, the Grand Master Zhuwenyuan Pavilion went to have an audience.

After everyone saluted Zhu Di, Xie Jin played and said: "Your Majesty, for several months, all the state governments in the world have tried their best to track down hidden households, and it has been quite effective. I have calculated that the number of people in Ming Dynasty has increased by seven times in previous years." Cheng, last year, there were 820 million households in the whole country, and now, it has increased to 270 million households, which is gratifying."

The yellow book is also called the tax and service yellow book, which is the main source of taxes and corvees collected through this yellow book.

Now that the population has increased greatly, the court's room for maneuver has also greatly increased.

After hearing this, Zhu Di twitched his eyebrows slightly, and said, "There will be results soon?"

"In the past few months, all Xiatouzhou and counties have done their best, especially the Metropolitan Procuratorate. They selected inspectors and inspected all directions. Among them, inspector Chen Zheng and Ganzhou prefect Wang Wenhui are the best among them."

After Xie Jin finished speaking, Hu Guang raised his head subconsciously and took a look at Xie Jin.

He heard some overtones. After hanging out with people like Xie Jin for a long time, even wood can open up a little bit.

Speaking of it, the population increase was originally a major achievement, and it is considered a minor achievement if it is a major achievement.

According to his understanding of Xie Jin, whenever there is something wrong, this Xie Gong can move around and refuse to go out, but if he is meritorious, he will often grab some of him, even if he doesn't know it, but at least he must talk He talked a lot about the hard work of this investigation, but today's answer was very short, with only a little mention, and he didn't even mention the credit for himself and Wenyuan Pavilion.

After Zhu Di heard it, he was very interested and said: "In a few days, I will present the yellow book, and I will take a good look at it."

"According to the order."

Zhu Di said again: "Such an effect is rare in previous years. Qing and others have finally done something that I am gratified. In addition to inspectors and magistrates being promoted to rank, the rest of the people, if they have made great achievements, should also be promoted; for those who have contributed, money and food should be given, and their hearts must not be chilled."

Zhu Di did something gratifying to me in the previous sentence, and he has already expressed his attitude. He thinks that the people up and down are not very satisfactory to him.

But under this unsatisfactory situation, these people finally made meritorious service, so they don't hesitate to reward them. In any case, the imperial court always depends on these people. Come on, these people may be more willing to contribute.

So Xie Jin said: "The minister waited for this and ordered the Ministry of Officials to make meritorious deeds for him."

Zhu Di nodded, and said again: "The contribution of Qing and others is not insignificant. These days, I have worked hard."

Xie Jin hurriedly said: "In this process, the minister is just following His Majesty's will, connecting the past and the next, and I really dare not claim credit."

Zhu Di raised his eyelids slightly, took a deep look at Xie Jin, and then nodded: "Yes."

After all, this is a big event that is celebrated by the whole world. Zhu Di thought of the Di Bao again, so he said: "The Di Bao should also be published. They are all signs of prosperity..."

With that said, Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi.

Zhang Anshi understood, and immediately said: "I...go back and explain."

Zhu Di said: "That's it."

Although he couldn't hide his joy, he still looked reserved, and when the officials left, Zhu Di sat down, his expression gradually relaxed.

Yi Shiha served him a cup of tea.

Zhu Di took a sip of his tea, and finally showed joy: "Finally...you're done, it's not easy, it's rare...they are still willing to do things."

Yishi Hadui laughed and said, "My servant also congratulates His Majesty."

Zhu Di smiled and said, "Now that I'm old, it's only reasonable to leave such a legacy to my descendants."

After Zhu Di finished speaking, he looked emotional.

Yi Shi laughed and said: "Your Majesty, the dragon is in good health and can live to be a hundred years old."

Zhu Di waved his hand, snorted and said, "Your mother, stop talking nonsense."

But if you look carefully, it's not difficult to see the upward arc of his mouth!

…………

Xie Jin returned to the duty room, and Hu Guang, who was walking at the end, saw no one around, so he followed Xie Jin in quickly.

"Jie Gong..."

When Xie Jin saw Hu Guang, he immediately smiled.

As a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, no matter how long Xie Jin has been with Yang Rong and Jin Youzi, or whether he is a fellow villager or not, no matter how much he jokes or talks about each other on weekdays, in fact, Xie Jin treats Yang Rong and Jin Youzi in his heart. More or less, there are still precautions.

After all, everyone is a smart person. Even Xie Jin dare not say that he has a full understanding of these two people. It is too difficult to guess what a smart person thinks.

But only for Hu Guang, just like Yang Rong can always put his heart and soul to Hu Guang, Xie Jin is not wary of him, not to mention that the two have a deep relationship, and they are naturally much closer than other people.

Xie Jin sat down, motioned to Hu Guang to sit down, and said, "Mr. Hu, do you seem to have something to say?"

Hu Guang sat down and said, "Your Majesty is very happy today... It's rare to see His Majesty so happy."

Xie Jin's expression also relaxed, and he smiled and said, "Yes, the Sacred Heart is unpredictable. It is indeed rare for His Majesty to be so happy."

He bit the word "Sacred Heart Unfathomable" very hard.

Hu Guang sighed: "But today, I have some reservations about the public, but I don't know why, what? Is there anything worrying about Xie Gong?"

Xie Jin glanced at Hu Guang meaningfully, and then said slowly, "What is His Royal Highness Song Wang doing recently?"

"Ah... him?"

When Zhang Anshi was mentioned suddenly, Hu Guang was a little strange, but he still said: "Recently, he lives reclusively and talks about himself. He...is not very social..."

Xie Jin said, "That's not necessarily the case."

Hu Guang looked at him very strangely, and then said: "Please give me an announcement."

Xie Jindao: "The matter of the hidden household...is too big, such a big event...His Royal Highness King Song doesn't care about it, do you think it's reasonable?"

After hearing this, Hu Guang opened his eyes slightly, as if enlightened, and said: "Jie Gong means...that's right, King Song likes to strive for merit the most."

Xie Jin smiled and said, "This is not a fight for merit, it's to share worries for His Majesty."

Hu Guangdao: "Isn't that actually the same meaning?"

Xie Jin smiled and said: "It's the same thing, but it can be interpreted differently, so it's a big difference. It's the loyal ministers and generals who share your majesty's worries, and the rebellious ministers and thieves who fight for merit."

"..."

Xie Jin went on to say: "The matter of the hermit is too big, and the credit is too great. Now it is quite effective, but there is no guarantee... there will be no mistakes, so at this time, it is not to ask for credit, but to do everything possible. Leaving aside this matter, the credits of the world should also be given to His Majesty, and to those who are under his command."

Even if Hu Guang is a fool, he can probably understand Xie Jin's meaning at this time, and suddenly realized: "It is inevitable that there will be some mistakes in such a big matter... As long as there are mistakes, in the future... Oh, thank you Xie Gong for reminding me. Farewell !"

After he finished speaking, he immediately wanted to leave excitedly.

Xie Jin took a sip of tea, but when he was about to walk out the door, he said suddenly: "Come back."

Hu Guang looked back at him and said, "What else can Xie Gong teach?"

Xie Jin put down the teacup and said with a smile: "Mr. Hu is so excited, but you want to go to find Mr. Yang excitedly and tell you your understanding?"

Hu Guang blushed, his eyes fluttered with guilt and said, "It's just a discussion."

Xie Jin sighed: "I advise you to stop mentioning it."

Hu Guangdao: "I... just said it casually."

Xie Jin said: "You may appear naive if you say it so casually."

Hu Guang: "..."

Xie Jindao: "Everyone in Wenyuan Pavilion can probably think of things that the old man can understand, so... these things are already understood by each other, and there is actually no need to discuss them, otherwise, it will only increase people's laughter." of."

Hu Guang: "..."

He felt he was so embarrassed he could dig out a room!

…………

Post Office.

Carloads of documents have been sent to the post office in the capital.

Because the Post Office is under the Ministry of Railways, its government office is located on the side of the Ministry of Railways, and its scale is smaller than that of the Ministry of Railways.

But because the business is quite extensive, there are quite a few people up and down here.

In this division alone, there are hundreds of officials working in office.

And this railway department has specially set up several warehouses to receive documents from post stations and newsstands all over the world. These documents have been sorted out by more than 120 clerks.

They verified the situation of the documents, and then sorted them into categories, from the prefecture to the county, and then to the township and village.

(End of this chapter)