20demayo Chapter 317: Ministry of Revenue, put on eye drops...
Chapter 317: Ministry of Revenue, put on eye drops...
When Gu Jingzhi went to the Ministry of Revenue, the first person he wanted to meet was naturally the Minister of Revenue Wei Zhen.
Although the two are destined to be enemies, he is still a second-rank minister after all, and is nominally his superior!
but……
Gu Jingzhi had just arrived at the Ministry of Revenue when he saw Wei Zhen already standing at the gate with his men. Upon seeing Gu Jingzhi coming, he, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Revenue, bowed and greeted him, "Greetings, Marquis of Xiling!"
???
Gu Jing was stunned.
Then he thought that, as a marquis... his rank was higher than that of a second-rank minister!
If he did not have an official position or power, Wei Zhen might be proud of his status, but Gu Jingzhi not only has power and position, but also has a title and the emperor's trust. If he does not even put in this superficial effort, being impeached will be a matter of the next court meeting!
"How could you, Minister Wei, do this? Regarding your official position... you are my superior. How could you accept such courtesy from Minister Wei?"
Gu Jingzhi had a smile on his face, but he was secretly alert in his heart!
It’s really a difficult one to deal with!
As a second-rank minister with the support of a noble family, he can still keep a positive attitude when encountering an 'enemy' like Gu Jingzhi. Such a person is extremely cunning!
After all, Wei Zhen was not an ordinary official, but a second-rank minister of the current dynasty, so he had some respectability. If he were an official from another aristocratic family, he would have mocked Gu Jingzhi a long time ago!
Wei Zhen said with a forced smile, "Marquis Xiling is a marquis, and his rank is higher than this minister's, so he should be treated with courtesy!"
"..."
He kept saying that his rank was higher than his, but he kept calling himself a Shangshu...
Gu Jingzhi knew that the other party had no good feelings towards him and was just speaking politely to them. After a long while, when the two of them had finished their pleasantries, Wei Zhen said:
"Marquis Xiling has just joined the Ministry of Revenue and has been appointed Vice Minister, a testament to Your Majesty's trust in him! At court, Your Majesty praised Marquis Xiling for his management skills. Earlier, he also advised Your Majesty on land reform, achieving remarkable results. How about this division of responsibilities... Marquis Xiling focusing on controlling land, household registration, and official salaries?"
Yo ho!
Gu Jingzhi sneered in his heart.
Even though the Ministry of Revenue has the most power among these three, compared with taxation and finance... there is indeed a huge difference.
Household registration and land. Because of the land reform in recent years, all land in the country has been checked, which has solved the problem of aristocratic families occupying land and concealing land and population to the greatest extent.
After some negotiations between Emperor Xia and the aristocratic families, the matter was settled long ago.
There is simply no way that Gu Jingzhi could do anything or achieve any political achievements!
As for salaries... this thing is also prone to problems.
Salaries also include military pay. The imperial court is often short of money, and the financial revenue is not in his hands. How can he come up with the money?
Secondly, the problem of official corruption is often caused by officials taking salaries without working, or making up excuses for disaster relief, etc.
Looking at novels and TV dramas, every time corruption is investigated and dealt with, it happens during these major events. But who says that the payment of officials’ salaries cannot lead to corruption?
The court salary is also a major part of the annual expenditure. After all, reality is not a novel, and disasters will not happen at every turn, unless you encounter the Ming Dynasty in the history of your previous life, which is really hard to describe!
Wei Zhen assigned him all the powers that could not bring any political achievements and were easy to be exposed, just to keep him in the Ministry of Revenue and unable to move. If necessary, he could also push the previous corruption problems onto him.
By then, even if Gu Jingzhi could clear himself of the corruption issue, he would still be charged with dereliction of duty.
However, he underestimated Gu Jingzhi!
He straightened his official robes, deliberately revealing the Great Xia Dragon Bird hanging from his waist. He then said calmly, "Your Majesty has asked me to find a way to fill the national treasury. The country's financial resources are primarily dependent on taxation. Without this authority, it would be like a woman without rice to cook. What do you think, Minister Wei?"
When Wei Zhen saw the Great Xia Dragon Bird, his pupils shrank slightly and he cursed in his heart!
He said expressionlessly, "Did Marquis Xiling also rely on the Emperor's Sword to oppress others when he governed Ningzhou earlier?"
"Ah!"
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "As the saying goes, a quick sword cuts the Gordian knot. I am a practical person and I hate wasting time on boring arguments!"
"Land and household registration are crucial to the safety and stability of Great Xia, and they best reflect the fundamental principles of the people. Such important matters should be entrusted to the Minister of State. This is how the court's benevolence can be demonstrated. What do you think, Minister Wei?"
"hehe!"
Wei Zhen glanced at Gu Jingzhi with a forced smile, wanting to retort, but then seemed to think of something and said, "Marquis Xiling has already brought out the Emperor's Sword. If this Minister still objects, it would be disobeying the Emperor's order!"
"But speaking of it, taxes are of paramount importance to the imperial court, and they encompass the sixteen provinces of Great Xia, so the official duties are heavy... Marquis Xiling has been entrusted with great responsibility by Your Majesty. If taxes are added to those three powers..."
Oh?
Gu Jingzhi raised his eyebrows. Does this mean he doesn't agree?
Gu Jingzhi was just about to see what Wei Zhen was up to when he heard him say, "How about this! The land, household registration, and taxes will be transferred to the Marquis of Xiling, and the official salaries will remain the same?"
After hearing this, Gu Jingzhi smiled faintly in his heart.
Wei Zhen, the old fox, probably knew long ago that he could not keep the power of taxation, and he had no intention of really giving the power of officials' salaries to Gu Jingzhi.
After all, there are too many complexities here. Although Gu Jingzhi doesn't understand much about the Ministry of Revenue at the moment, he will be able to understand all the complexities with a little time.
They would never hand the evidence to Gu Jingzhi.
It seems that Gu Jingzhi won this time by relying on the emperor's favor, but in fact, these were just what Wei Zhen had considered a long time ago!
Gu Jingzhi roughly understood what he meant just by hearing what he said.
However, he did not care what Wei Zhen and the people behind him were planning. His priority right now was to take over some of the Ministry of Revenue's powers.
As for the rest, it’s not important.
No one won or lost in the battle, but the officials from the Ministry of Revenue watched the two fighting with their minds as clear as a mirror.
After Wei Zhen left, a sixth-rank official came up to Gu Jingzhi with a group of about twenty people.
"Your subordinates greet Lord Gu!"
"Excuse me, please!"
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "But this is the Ministry of Revenue, and we have to use our titles when we're working!"
"Uh!"
Those people were slightly embarrassed after hearing this, but they followed Gu Jingzhi's instructions and said with a smile, "It's my fault, Minister Gu, please don't blame me!"
"Well!"
Gu Jingzhi nodded slightly, then looked at them and said, "Please introduce yourselves!"
"Your Excellency, we are all the chief officials of the Ministry of Revenue. I am Xie Yunzhao, and I am responsible for running errands for you. The others... Mr. Nian is in charge of land, Mr. Liu is in charge of household registration, and the rest of you are the chief officials in charge of the affairs of the sixteen provinces..."
As he spoke, he introduced the people one by one!
Gu Jingzhi nodded slightly after hearing this. To put it bluntly, these people were all his deputies who assisted him in handling government affairs.
After arriving at his office, Gu Jingzhi glanced around, then sat down in his seat. He then looked at the others and said, "..."