Vol 2 Chapter 988: Had to go from

Chang En was ordered to go to the Chang'an Palace, feeling a little uneasy, and all kinds of thoughts surged.
Before he was ordered to preside over the construction of the Chang'an Palace. After the palace was repaired, he stayed idle.
I thought that the empress would not use him again, and he also bought a house to take care of him, but suddenly someone from the palace informed that the empress wanted to see him.
Could it be that there was a problem with Chang'an Palace, and the empress must be held accountable?
But if you are accountable, you don't need the Queen Empress to come forward in person.
After arriving at Chang'an Palace, he was invited into the study after being notified.
There are a lot of people in the study, and everyone is holding an abacus, crackling to settle accounts.
Gu Jiu put down the ledger in his hand and beckoned Chang En to speak.
"It's noisy here. Father Chang will follow the palace to the imperial garden?"
"The old slave will follow the instructions of the mother."
Gu Jiu got up and went to the Imperial Garden.
Chang En also followed suit.
"In the middle of the year, all industries will have to do a mid-term settlement, predicting the market in the second half of the year. Recently, the Chang'an Palace in this palace is like an accountant, in and out are all abacus books."
"Niangniang has worked hard!" Chang En said with a bow.
Gu Jiu stood in front of the pool railing, watching the goldfish swimming in the water.
She stretched out her hand, and the palace person immediately put a box of fish food in her hand.
She threw a handful of fish food into the water, causing goldfish to come forward and bite.
"The annual audit of accounts requires a lot of time and energy in this palace."
Chang En was staring at the goldfish in the pool. As soon as the Queen Mother spoke, he hurriedly withdrew his mind and concentrated on it.
"I mean, you want to change the current situation?" He asked cautiously.
Gu Jiu glanced back at him, "Grandpa Chang deserves to have served Emperor Wende Chengzong, and he responded quickly."
Chang En lowered his head and smiled, "The old slave doesn't understand why the Niang Niang mentioned this with the old slave. According to the old slave, there are many talents around Niang Niang, and the auditing of the accounts can be handled by the people below."
Gu Jiu smiled, "In the past few years, the palace has recruited a group of people who are hopeless in the imperial examination but are talented in the number of operations. They are young, healthy, energetic, and full of energy. Many problems have arisen. But because of being young, it is inevitable to be impulsive and cause some trouble."
Chang En was silent.
Gu Jiu tapped the railing lightly, "This palace needs a person, someone who can hold the overall situation, can convince the crowd, and has a clear mind. This candidate is optimistic about Father Chang."
Chang En was taken aback.
Made countless guesses, but did not guess this one.
"Niangniang meant to let the old slaves discipline those accounts?"
Gu Jiu nodded and shook his head again, "This palace intends to establish an independent organization, which will be called the Audit Department for the time being. The accounts of Sihai and Huanyu will be reviewed and approved by the Audit Department. The personnel on both sides shall not be involved in any entanglement. When mature, the Audit Department will also take on the burden of reviewing the accounts of various government offices."
Chang En's heart suddenly jumped, and asked cautiously: "Does your majesty know this?"
Gu Jiu nodded, "The establishment of the Audit Department is a joint decision made by Your Majesty and the Palace. The Audit Department, which seems inconspicuous, will play a role as a demonstrator in the future, making every government and every industrialist tighten. Don’t reach out for money that shouldn’t belong to you.

Chang En's face turned pale. Although the pool was cool and there was rare wind, he still sweated.
"The old slave has something to say, I don't know if it should be said."
"Just say it. No matter what you say, the palace forgive you not guilty."
"Thank you, Niang Niang!"
Chang En deliberated his words, "Let's talk about the palace people in the palace first. Everyone has no hope, the only thing they can count on is money. This audit department, according to the design of the empress, if the old slave is not wrong, he will definitely find it in the palace in the future. Once the Audit Department’s hand reaches into the palace, the palace’s only hope is gone. The palace has no hope at all, and the old slaves can’t guarantee that they will do anything crazy. This is a bunch of abnormal things. People, even the only way to make money is not cut off, this is hurting the enemy one thousand and eight hundred!"
Gu Jiu nodded, "What you said makes sense. Anything else?"
Chang En continued: "Just talk about the salary of officials, not to mention raising a family, even if you support the officials, you can't support yourself. Welcome and send, servants, house chariots, wives and concubines... everything is needed. Spend money. If you don’t stretch your hands, Dazhou officials will live like beggars. What do people work hard to study for the imperial examinations for? Isn’t it just to live a decent life and be a master. The court cut everyone’s money, this It's boring if the official does it."
Gu Jiu laughed when he heard the words.
She said: "With regard to cutting off the wealth of the palace, this palace supports your views. This point really needs to be cautious. But with regard to officials, Mr. Chang said too one-sidedly. In this dynasty, one must first be a Jinshi. What does it mean to be an official? , Father Chang could not understand.
Jinshi means exemption from taxes and corvee, which means that in order to avoid corvee taxes, countless petty merchants will dedicate acres of family property to the master petty officer. A mere master, who has been operating carefully for ten years, can become a local hegemon. It is not too easy for a family of senior sergeants to become a local government.
How did those aristocratic families that have been rooted for decades, hundreds or even hundreds of years, come from? How did those local tycoons who privately mine minerals come from? It evolved from the master of the sergeant. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, none of the officials was poor. Even Zhou Shian's kind of self-defeating from the family, willing to guard the poverty and become an official, it is not that people send things to his room in two days. Poor? He may not have much money, but he has never lacked food and clothing. "
Chang En said in a cold sweat, "The old slave has little knowledge, please forgive me."
"You're right." Gu Jiu said softly: "There are indeed some impoverished officials in the DPRK, but this number is very rare and rare. Moreover, what the palace wants to check is the accounts of the yamen, not to liquidate officials' corruption and bribery."
Chang En was a little dazed. "The mother meant that as long as the officials don't reach out to the Yamen warehouse, don't care about anything else?"
Gu Jiu sprinkled fish food, "I can't control it for the time being. Of course, if it is too much, Jinwuwei is not a display."
After finishing speaking, she looked at Chang En, "Daddy Chang dare to bear this heavy burden? This is an offensive job, which requires the six relatives to deny it and only recognize the money and only the accounts."
Chang En was stressed and smiled bitterly.
"Now that the old slave still has a choice?"
He knew the empress's plans, obviously there was no way out, unless he died.
Gu Jiu laughed, "If you don't agree, you can only send you overseas, or the Northwest Desert."
Chang En's face turned pale, and he smiled bitterly, "The old slave is almost scared to death."
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "How can this little thing scare Father Chang. To tell you, Chen Dachang is in the south. It is a pity that he is old and can't do it anymore. The palace allows him to be raised in Jiangnan and Beijing. He bought the property for him. However, this old guy refused to accept the old and said that he could not go to sea, but he could help the palace stare at Jiangnan and fight for Yang Ji. The palace was worried that he would rely on the old to sell the old and spoil Yang Ji, so Zhou Miao specially asked Zhou Miao. Hold this old thing."
This remark revealed too much inside information.
Chang En gaped, but was shocked anyway.
"Chen Dachang is still alive?"
"Grandpa Chang thought he was dead?"
Chang En told the truth: "I haven't seen him for more than ten years. I heard that he went to the south. The old slave thought he had died at sea, but he was still alive. Zhou Miao went to the south as well?"
Gu Jiu smiled, and said: "In the south of the Yangtze River, the wealthy family trees have deep roots, and there are many ghosts, ghosts and snakes. To deal with these powerful locals, you have to use people like Zhou Miao.
It's a good choice to stir the sticks against cows, ghosts and snakes.
Compared with the honest officials, Zhou Miao and others who walked sideways had better ways.
Chang En has already figured it out, "If our family refuses Niang Niang, do we have to go to the south to be with the old ghost Chen Dachang?"
"You are not qualified to be with Chen Dachang. If you refuse this palace, you will be escorted to the ship to the south, and you will first go overseas for a few years with the same group of exiled murderers, prisoners of war and mine slaves."
Chang En was sweating.
Gu Jiu smiled at him, "Have you thought about it?"
Chang En sighed, "I've thought it out! The old slave is willing to work in the audit department."
"Very good! From now on, you will be the chief director of the Audit Department. The former Guozijian old school will become the office of the Audit Department. The first task, in half a month, is to review the accounting of the first quarter of Huanyu and Sihai. The second task is to cooperate with the Shaofu to conduct a large-scale private mine inventory."
Chang En frowned, "Private mine inspections? The Shaofu had done this before. It has only been more than ten years, so why do we need to inspect them again?"
Last time, in order to crack down on private coinage, Shaofu conducted an inventory of the minerals in Dazhou in the name of issuing a mining license.
The effect is not bad, and the number of privately minted coins on the market is decreasing year by year.
At present, the people on the market recognize the coins minted by Shaofu even more because they are not adulterated, which is enough.
As long as the government guarantees the smooth circulation of official coins in the market and meets the people's demand for coins, there will be no place for private money to survive.
Of course this is an ideal situation.
The reality is that private money has never been extinct.
Because the coins are privately minted, even if they follow the Shaofu's casting process and do not adulterate at all, they still make money.
As long as there is a profitable business, someone will take the risk.
Gu Jiu deliberated, "This time the main purpose of the mine inventory is to crack down on private iron ore mines. This palace requires you to close 50% of the iron ore mines."
Chang En was shocked, "You can't be a mother! This will cause criticism from the DPRK, and I am afraid that there will be unspeakable consequences. Those private mine owners have backers behind them and cannot easily move them."
"This time, you must move those mine owners." Gu Jiu's eyes were firm. "The Shaofu, Jinwuwei, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will cooperate with the Audit Department to check the accounts. The tax on minerals is not low. Ten of the ten minerals evade tax. It’s your entry point."
Chang En was mad, "It's absolutely impossible, the consequences will be disastrous."
Gu Jiu smiled, "My palace knows that the consequences are serious, so my palace has prepared a way out for you."