Chapter 562 Zhang Juzheng Visits the Ministry of Revenue

Wang Guoguang’s hunch was correct!
Zhang Juzheng, Fang Fengshi and Lu Diaoyang each changed into a green robe with a egret patch, disguised themselves as ordinary seventh-rank officials, and quietly went to the Ministry of Revenue.

“The Ministry of Revenue has the most affairs and should implement the performance evaluation system the most. However, it has the most accumulated problems and faces the greatest obstacles in promoting the performance evaluation system. It is the hardest nut among the six ministries in the cabinet. Today, the three of us will go to the Ministry of Revenue to take a look in person and crack this nut.”

Sitting in the carriage, Zhang Juzheng said in a deep voice.

Lu Diaoyang asked hesitantly, “Prince, will Wang Shu’an be angry if we suddenly go to the Ministry of Revenue for inspection?”

Fang Fengshi glanced at him and said, “Shu’an has worked hard and devoted himself to the Ministry of Revenue during these days, and has made many achievements. However, the Ministry of Revenue has too many problems, especially Gao Xinzheng has been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for three years, and he has appointed many people from his own party. Gao’s party is all over the Ministry of Revenue.

When Mr. Gao died suddenly of illness, these people were so panicked that they banded together to protect themselves. They pretended to obey Shu’an’s administration but secretly violated it, adding more restrictions.

The rest of the Ministry of Revenue sat back and watched, secretly adding fuel to the fire. The Ministry of Revenue was like a pool of water, with undercurrents surging.

Yuan Fu took us there to help Shu An and tell the Ministry of Revenue, the Prime Minister and the cabinet that they are all supporting Shang Shu Wang. “

It turned out to be the case.

Lu Diaoyang turned and looked at Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng smiled, stroked his beard and said, “This is the first time we are officially inspecting the performance evaluation work of the Ministry of Revenue in the name of the Central Steering Committee of the Performance Evaluation Law of the Ming Dynasty. We must establish our authority and give them enough deterrence!”

Fang Fengshi smiled and said, “Yuan Fu, let’s consider this as an incognito visit.”

“The Ministry of Revenue is full of corrupt officials, who are very good at deceiving their superiors and subordinates. We must go incognito and catch them off guard to see their true colors.

Once we see clearly, we can deal with it better.”

The carriage soon arrived at the left side of Daming Gate.

This is the “official compound” of the six ministries and temples. It is surrounded by a high wall and has four main gates in the east, west, south and north, and six side gates. There are patrol officers on duty at each gate, who are only responsible for maintaining order and do not control entry and exit.

Each of the six temples has its own courtyard, with its own signboard hanging at the main gate, and guards on duty at the gate. To enter the courtyard of each temple, you need to register and show your badge.

Zhang Juzheng, along with Fang Fengshi, Lu Diaoyang, Zhang Xueyan, the chief secretary of the cabinet, and four guards disguised as attendants, pretended to register, displayed their genuine badges, and pretended to be officials from the Imperial Household Department who had come to the Ministry of Revenue to do business.

There are many officials who come to the Ministry of Revenue to do business, but there is nothing they can do because he is the God of Wealth and all the salaries and allowances are in his hands.

After entering the yard, there were people coming and going, wearing green robes, blue robes, red robes, all kinds of people.

“Mr. Zhang, let’s make a bet.” Fang Fengshi said suddenly with great interest.

Zhang Juzheng asked with a smile: “Jinhu, what’s the bet?”

“Mr. Zhang, let’s bet that those who are in a hurry in the Ministry of Revenue are officials who are here to do business. Those who are walking leisurely are officials from the Ministry.”

Zhang Juzheng laughed, “I won’t bet with you. This is so obvious, why should I bet with you?”

Zhang Xueyan echoed, “Mr. Zhang is right. This is indeed obvious.”

Lu Diaoyang also understood, “Yes, he must be in a hurry when he comes to do things. But it’s hard to justify the officials of the Ministry of Revenue for not being in a hurry with such a complicated government.”

Zhang Juzheng said calmly: “That’s why we came here first.

The Ministry of Revenue was the government office with the most problems among the six ministries.

The place is full of experienced people. Without Shu’an, everyone is free and easy, just like letting go of sheep.

No, if this trend is not reversed, even if Shu’an dies of exhaustion in the Ministry of Revenue, it will be of no use.”

Zhang Xueyan said: “The seven temples of Taifu, Taipu, Taichang, Guanglu, Honglu, Sinong, and Dushui have the most positive atmosphere, especially the three temples of Taifu, Taichang, and Taipu.

When Shu’an took charge of Taifu Temple, it was almost like rebuilding a new Taifu Temple from scratch.

Now that I have been transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, I feel like my feet are stuck in a quagmire and it is difficult to move forward.”

Zhang Juzheng said: “Everything is difficult at the beginning. The Ministry of Revenue is the most difficult one among the six ministries. I asked Shu’an to take charge of the Ministry of Revenue because I saw his ability.

He has been in the Ministry of Revenue for half a year, and has used the performance evaluation system to reshape the new Ministry of Revenue. Now is the critical moment, and we need to give you a boost and get you started.”

The four of them talked as they walked along the corridor until they arrived at the central courtyard.

Lu Diaoyang rarely came to the Ministry of Revenue, so he asked curiously, “Is this the famous Twenty-two Provinces Cleaning Office?”

Zhang Xueyan smiled and said, “Yes, there used to be 13 Qingli Si, and later it was increased to 22 Qingli Si, which were responsible for the household registration and money and grain affairs of each province. Each department was divided into four departments: Civil Affairs, Finance, and Treasury.”

“Xinzhai, I am not familiar with the Ministry of Revenue, please continue to guide me.”

“You’re too polite, Yu.

The Qinglisi was the most important department of the Ministry of Revenue, and the civil affairs department under it was responsible for registering the population, land, and property of each province.

The Duzhi Department is responsible for the collection of summer taxes and autumn grain in each province, as well as the calculation of official salaries; the Jin Department is responsible for the taxes on trade, maritime trade, fishing, tea, etc. in each province; and the Cang Department is responsible for the transportation and storage of grain in each province.

Zhang Xueyan started as a county magistrate and worked his way up to become a councilor of Shanxi, and then joined the Ministry of Revenue as the right assistant minister. Gao Gong was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and relied on his confidant Xu Yangzheng, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

However, Xu Yangzheng’s ability was limited, and it was Zhang Xueyan who truly maintained the normal operation of the Ministry of Revenue.

However, he had a good relationship with Wang Yi’e, a fellow examiner, and was unwilling to join Gao Gong, so he was suppressed by Gao Gong in secret. However, people with ability will always come out, and Zhang Juzheng still noticed him.

When the cabinet was formed, he was promoted to be the chief secretary of the cabinet and be in charge of the cabinet office.

Zhang Xueyan told the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue like he knew them all by heart. Not only Lu Diaoyang listened attentively, but Zhang Juzheng and Fang Fengshi also listened with great interest.

“The Ministry of Revenue also has a Baochao Tizhusi, which was responsible for printing Baochao in the early years of the country. However, Baochao is now worthless, and this office has become a place to support idle people. There is also a Siwu Hall, which is responsible for urging supervision, auditing, cancellation and official documents.

There is also the Zhaomo Office, which is responsible for the written correspondence and file management of the Ministry of Revenue.

In addition, there are a bunch of treasurer ambassadors.

There was the Guanghui Ku for storing banknotes, the Guangji Ku for storing sulfur and saltpeter, the Guangying Ku for storing silk, gauze and satin, the Xiefen Ku for storing confiscated property from the government, the famous Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding and Wu Ku, and the Chengyun Ku for storing satin, gold, silver and precious stones.

After several changes, by the tenth year of Xuande, the responsibilities of each department were basically determined.

The salaries of the royal family, nobles, civil and military officials were managed by the Shaanxi Qingli Division, the national salt tax was managed by the Shandong Division, the customs duties were managed by the Guizhou Division, the grain transport and warehouses in Linqing and other places were managed by the Yunnan Division, and the warehouses such as the Imperial Horse and Elephant House were managed by the Guangxi Division.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said, “The responsibilities are not clear and the situation is chaotic. So before Shu’an took office as the Minister of Revenue, I told him to change the organization of each department in the Ministry of Revenue, clarify the responsibilities, and set an example for the new official system.

Shu’an was also resolute and quickly drew up a new plan for the Ministry of Revenue. Not only did I pay attention to it, but the emperor also paid attention to it.

When the emperor was the crown prince, he repeatedly urged Gao Suqing to reform the Ministry of Revenue’s organization and implement a budget system. Unfortunately, Gao used various excuses to prevaricate and delay.

The emperor summoned me and Shu’an many times, and the emperor and his subjects talked and finally determined the new organization of the Ministry of Revenue. Xinzhai, do you still remember? “

Zhang Xueyan smiled and said, “This matter has been handled by my students, so I naturally remember it.

The Ministry of Revenue newly established the Regulations Bureau, the Personnel Bureau, the General Office, four departments of Civil Affairs, Budget, Audit, and Treasury, as well as the Salt Administration Bureau and the Taxation Administration Bureau.

The Regulations Bureau is responsible for drafting relevant regulations of the Ministry of Revenue and studying national fiscal and taxation policies; the Personnel Bureau is responsible for internal recommendations and nominations of officials in the Ministry of Revenue, as well as performance evaluation, and personnel training; and the General Office is responsible for the daily operations of the Ministry of Revenue, written correspondence, and file management.

The Civil Affairs Department is responsible for the population household registration and land, forest, fishery, animal husbandry and mineral registration of each province, as well as the management of property transaction contracts.

The Budget Department is responsible for formulating the annual fiscal and taxation plan, preparing the annual draft budget and final accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and budget adjustment plans, and reviewing the annual budget and final accounts plans of central departments and provincial governors.

The Audit Department audits the budgets and final accounts of central departments and provinces, and audits the annual accounts of departments and provinces.

The Treasury Department was responsible for collecting taxes and paying out money and grain, managing local granaries and the Ministry of Revenue’s treasury accounts in the four major banks.

In addition to salt administration, the General Administration of Salt Administration is also responsible for the issuance and management of tea, sugar, and wine monopoly licenses; the General Administration of Taxation is responsible for collecting customs duties, trade taxes, and factory value-added taxes.

Zhang Juzheng added: “Shu’an originally wanted to set up a tax bureau to formulate tax types and adjust tax rates.

The emperor held him down, saying that the matter was of great importance and that the Ministry of Revenue could not handle it. He asked that the new fiscal and taxation system be established as soon as possible, and that after the Ministry of Revenue was completely renewed, the Tariff Commission would be established, which would require a Right Councillor to lead the charge.

Fang Fengshi shook his head: “The changes are indeed huge, it can be said that it is a complete transformation.

The Ministry of Revenue is the most busy department. It is really difficult for Shu’an to handle government affairs while completing such a staffing reform. “

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said, “It is precisely because I know that Shu’an is good at handling complicated situations that I asked the emperor to transfer him to the Ministry of Revenue.”

The four of them walked and talked, looking somewhat idle, not like people who were here to do business. Some passers-by glanced at them and thought they were officials from the Ministry of Revenue who were out for a walk.

“My Lord, you have been auditing our annual accounts for the third year of Longqing for half a year, and we have been waiting in the capital for half a year. Now the first year of Wanli is about to pass, and we have not yet finished auditing our annual accounts for the third year of Longqing. What should we do?”

A voice came from the front. The four looked up and saw two green-robed officials standing at the door of an office, bowing and begging desperately.

A green-robed clerk holding a cup of tea said slowly, “We can’t help it, our Audit Department is busy.

In the past, the annual accounts of 22 provinces were audited by 22 Qinglisi, and we were still very busy. Now, all of them need to be audited by our Audit Department, and we also have to reconcile and settle the accounts with the Budget Department. How can we handle it?

Wait.”

“Master Shangguan, we are the Guizhou Provincial Government, we have the least work and the simplest accounts, but we are dragged to the last. It is really unacceptable.”

“What’s there to be said? In the past, there were 22 account books for 22 yamen, but now there are 22 account books for one yamen. Isn’t that reasonable?

There is nothing you can’t explain about this matter.”

After the clerk from the Audit Department finished speaking, he turned around and greeted his colleague, “Old Wa, where are we going to drink tonight?”

“Hey, Lin Youcai, you’ve started to slack off again while Wang Butang is away.”

“Damn it! Now I have to do the work of several people and my salary hasn’t increased. I work so hard but for no reason!”

“You are just talking bullshit, how much more can you do now? Be careful. I heard that Prime Minister Zhang is very strict about the performance appraisal law. You are so lazy that you haven’t audited last year’s annual accounts for half a year. If you are caught, you will definitely be a typical example.

Be careful. “

“I’d better be careful! There are many typical people in the Ministry of Revenue, and I’m not the only one. Tell me, where should we go to drink tonight and play a few rounds of mahjong.”

“Okay, okay, I’m itching to play mahjong. I’ll go ask around. If Wang Butang doesn’t come back today, we’ll run away early.”

The two green-robed clerks from the Guizhou Provincial Government followed Lin Youcai, smiling and saying nice things.

Lin Youcai talked to his colleague without even turning his head, completely ignoring the two of them.

Lu Diaoyang shook his head: “The annual accounts for the third year of Longqing have not been audited yet. The people in the Audit Department are too lazy.”

Zhang Juzheng was so angry that his face turned pale.

“So it’s the Guizhou Provincial Government. No wonder they were being bullied.” Fang Fengshi shook his head.

Lu Diaoyang turned around and asked curiously, “Is there any other explanation?”

(End of this chapter)