After a few words of debate between the Minister of Hubu and the Minister of War, he turned to Zhi Zhi and said: "In fact, the ministers have already reported to the Holy One and His Highness the intention of reducing the horse administration. Compared with ordinary people, the cost of raising war horses for the imperial court is too high.
, a horse plague will destroy the family, instead of wasting the people and ruining the money, it is better to let them farm with peace of mind."
"Also, Taipu Temple's horse farms in Hebei, Shaanxi, Hetao and other places are still too big. Wei Chen believes that they should be converted into farmland, and the horse farms can be moved to the southeast, west and south of Liaoning."
The Minister of the Ministry of War immediately refuted: "Nothing can move like a dragon in the sky, and nothing can move on the earth like a horse. Horses are the foundation of armored soldiers and the greatest use of the country! The rebellion of the former Yuan Dynasty still exists, where can the southwest, Liao and northeast frontiers be free of trouble? If we, the Ming Dynasty, do not take advantage of the victory to pursue us
, to abandon the horse administration at this time, wouldn’t it mean that you are cutting off your feet to fit your shoes? I would like to ask you for a clear warning!”
The Shaoqing of Taipu Temple tried to smooth things over and said: "Your Highness should have meant to change the government's policy of employing people to raise horses, instead of the two ministers, it would be too extreme. Why is it like this?"
However, his words obviously did not carry enough weight. Officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War pretended not to have heard and continued to take the matter to extremes and argue endlessly, obviously for their own interests.
The Ministry of War and the governor-general behind it, that is, the Huaixi warriors, obviously do not want any changes in the horse administration. The number of horses in the army has been increasing sharply. This is their confidence.
What's more, there are not many ways to make money in the army, and privately sending caravans to trade with Mongolia is now strictly prohibited. If the annual supply of horses is further reduced, they will really be poor.
The Ministry of Household Affairs has a very simple idea. The imperial court now needs money in all aspects. Where does this money and food come from? It has to rely on the people to farm and pay taxes.
No matter how many horses there are, they can only eat food but not produce food. A horse, especially a war horse, needs a lot of food every day. If it is not on a natural pasture, the land required to raise a war horse will not be enough if it is used to grow grain.
It can feed more than twenty people.
Zhu Biao patted the book table lightly and asked everyone to adjust their posture quickly. After they all calmed down, he said: "The Central Plains is not suitable for raising horses. To achieve the current prosperity is the result of Ming Dynasty, which has devoted all its national power. It is not a long-term goal."
The long-lasting way.”
"The imperial court gave the horses to the people in the south of the Yangtze River. The Hubu Temple and Taipusi Temple immediately bought them back at market prices and drove them to the southwest and Liaodong for pasture. They ordered the Ministry of Works Taipusi Temple to move the pastures to these two places. After the move, they left
The Ministry of Land and Household Affairs must promptly arrange for people to open up wasteland for farming."
The Central Plains was not a suitable place for raising horses. The Song Dynasty had no choice but to raise horses here after losing all its territory. Now that the Ming Dynasty has recovered even the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun and Liaodong, the horses are no longer so nervous. They must give up the land.
To feed the people.
Seeing that the prince had made up his mind, the officials of the Ministry of War were unhappy, but they could not say anything. If they dared to make a fuss in the court hall, they definitely did not dare to do so in Jinshen Palace.
The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue frowned and said: "Your Highness, there are probably more than 100,000 horses in Jiangnan, and the Ministry of Revenue cannot afford to buy them back. What's more, the horses were lent to them by the imperial court, and there are tax exemptions."
The young minister of Taipu Temple also hurriedly said: "I know that Your Highness is kind and virtuous, loves the people like a son, and is willing to take care of the people. If you can take back the horses without any damage, it will be enough to reassure the people."
Zhu Biao turned his attention to the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. If others had given in, he would have given in. After all, the court's money was the emperor's money, and the emperor's money was the prince's money after all. He didn't feel sorry for anyone else.
It's just that Zhao Wenjing is worthy of being called a black-faced man. He really refuses to let go when it comes to the money and food from the Ministry of Household Affairs. His meaning is very simple. Prince, there is absolutely no way to ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to spend such unnecessary money, unless you directly
I took away my Wusha, otherwise as long as I am still the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, I cannot use the money. If I ask, I won’t have it.
Seeing this, Zhu Biao could only take a step back. He had no shortage of officials under his command, but he lacked talents like Zhao Wenjing who could manage money, food and taxes. Not only did he not have one under his command, Lao Zhu had only one treasure under his command.
In the past few years, the father and son have been beaten hard by Zhao Wenjing not once or twice. Even Lao Zhu's violent temper can be tolerated, which shows that Zhao Wenjing is indeed devoted to the country and is not a corrupt person.
Zhu Biao rubbed his eyebrows and sighed: "Then the grain tax exemption policy should be extended for another two years. The people spent a lot of money raising horses for the court. Now that the horses are suddenly taken back, their losses are not small. If there are wealthy households
Those who are willing to leave the horse can do so."
"There are a lot of issues involved here. After you go back, discuss it carefully and come up with a charter and send it to me. I can also send it to the Holy Lord to implement this matter as soon as possible."
Zhao Wenjing obviously still feels that the prince is a little too kind to the people. Of course, it is not bad. It would be a good thing if the country is prosperous and the people are safe, and the treasury is full. But now that there is a lot of waste to be done and the household department is not enough money and food everywhere, it is really difficult to support the prince.
Give grace to the world.
But after all, Zhao Wenjing was not as stubborn as the imperial censors. Knowing that His Highness had already given him enough face, he calmed down for the time being and told the Ministry of Household's difficulties in private when he returned home.
"The ministers and others hereby respectfully comply with His Highness's order and I shall retire."
Liu Jin sent them out of the palace, and Zhu Biao relaxed his stiff body and leaned on the back of the chair. How could he not know about the difficulties in the household department? It's just that Jiangnan has been plagued by disasters in the past two years. The last time the Jiangnan case caused turmoil until now
They haven't been completely settled yet.
Last time I targeted the scholar-gentry class, this time I targeted ordinary people. Neither one of them is scary, but the combination of the two is scary.
That's why he hoped to compensate and appease the people so that they would not have any resentment. Ma Zheng was not at the level of anger and resentment. It would be good for the court and the people to stop it in time.
The imperial court has abolished the population tax, which means that no matter whether you are a man or a woman, you do not need to pay a sum of money or food for the birth of a child. It can be foreseen that the next few decades or even hundreds of years will be an era of population surge. If the pastures of the Central Plains are not given up,
, the conflict between man and horse competing for land is bound to intensify.
The interests behind the horse farm are very involved, and there is an honest reason for its existence. If this problem is not solved at this time, the future emperor may not be able to solve it.
Zhu Biao stood up and walked to the map of the Ming Dynasty hung in the side hall and looked at it with his hands folded. The Saibei grassland and the Hetao Plain were the most suitable for raising horses, but the risk was also the greatest. Once Mongolia suddenly unified, all the arrangements of the Ming Dynasty in Mongolia would be gone.
Instead, he was making wedding clothes for others.
Historically, the Ming Dynasty paid great attention to the control of the Hetao area after driving the Mongols back to Mobei. It also regarded it as a treasure land for patrolling war horses and training cavalry. However, after the Tumubao Incident in the 14th year of Ming Yingzong's orthodoxy, the Ming Dynasty
The military strength of the DPRK decreased sharply, and the Hetao area was gradually occupied by the Mongols. The Ming Dynasty once again lost this treasure land.
And there is another very important reason. Zhu Zhu felt that the Hetao area gradually entered severe desertification during the Ming Dynasty, and it was extremely difficult for immigrants to colonize the land and raise horses.
So now the best options are the southwest and Liaodong, that is, Guizhou, Yunnan and the northeastern regions. These places have harsh climates, are vast and sparsely populated, and have very few Han people, and not many people are willing to open up wasteland for farming.
In addition to the pasture of Taipu Temple in the future, there is a huge area. Instead of forcibly moving people to farm, for example, the people can be induced to go to herd and raise horses, and then the court will purchase it to form a trade market.
The government-run pastures ensure the most basic supply of horses, while the common people's pastures can compete with each other to produce good horses, which also solves the problem of the deteriorating war horses.
Liaodong is already in the Ming Dynasty's pocket. The battle between Naha and Goryeo was quite fierce. To this extent, even if he regretted it, it would be too late. He made a wrong step and made a wrong step. I believe he would not be so stupid. He had to do it.
Death and reputation.
As for Yunnan, Zhu Biao was not in a hurry at first. He originally planned to recover Liaodong and then fight with the overwhelming power of the sky. Not only would he completely eliminate the stubborn remnant of the former Yuan Dynasty, King Liang, but also deter the Southeast Asian countries.
But now it seems that it is necessary to discuss it with the Duan family. Anyway, it is not necessary to deter the Nanyang countries in Yunnan. At worst, it is more convenient to find a reason to destroy a country in Nanyang.
