Zhu Yuanzhang took the tea cup and wanted to drink it all. When it reached his mouth, he suddenly said: "Mr. Zhang, what happened this time?"
"Don't worry, my lord, not many people know...that is, the minister, the queen, the King of Yan, the Jin Yiwei, the ones who just gave the order, and in the future, maybe the tax card people, and the prison cells, and yes, there are also the secret protection people..."
"That's enough!" Zhu Yuanzhang banged the table angrily and roared, "Don't you think we are embarrassed enough?"
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help laughing, "My lord, as an emperor, you should read more memorials. Our Ming Dynasty is peaceful and the people are safe, the sky is majestic, the people are healthy, the people are simple, we don't pick up things on the road, and we don't close our doors at night..."
"You are talking nonsense!" Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he slammed the table and shouted: "We have all seen it, and it is different from what you said! It is not the same at all!"
Zhang Ximeng sighed helplessly, "I just said, Your Majesty shouldn't wander around."
"you!"
Lao Zhu suddenly laughed again, laughing so hard that he was very happy. He raised his neck, drank up the tea, and said to Zhang Ximeng: "Why is your tea so much better than the one in the palace?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "That's natural, I am the best!"
Lao Zhu glared, "What about us? We are an emperor, but what we drink is not the best?"
"Of course it's top quality, that's what the palace says anyway."
Lao Zhu's anger surged again, and Zhang Ximeng just smiled, "My lord, there are many people in the palace, and the consumption is huge. There are so many people in the palace alone, including the princes and princesses, and a lot of concubines. The quantity of the best tea is just that much."
If the classification is not done well and there are differences and you favor one over the other, you will be in trouble! You have no choice but to control the levels so that everyone is the same. This can save you trouble!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a dark face: "You are sophistry! If they don't give us the best tea, they are deceiving you!"
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but laugh, "My lord, I have been away from Beijing for a few days. I don't know if I have changed it or not. There is a high probability that it will not change. I remember that the palace purchased tea and medicinal materials. The best grade is first-class, or
First-class, but there is never such a word as top quality... How should I put it, the things in the palace are good, but that's all. The best things will naturally not be given to the lord!"
"Then you, Mr. Zhang, have it? How can you use it for everything?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked loudly.
Zhang Ximeng spoke sternly, "Lord, I spent my own royalties on this. Is this wrong?"
Lao Zhu was speechless and just drank tea, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed than before.
After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly murmured: "Sir, it's actually not easy in Peiping, right?"
Zhang Ximeng also suppressed his smile and became serious, "What my lord said is true. In fact, there are too many problems in Peiping. The conflicts accumulated over the years have been transferred to Peiping. At present, 80% of the exiled prisoners in the Ming Dynasty have been sent to prison."
When you arrive in Peiping, it can be said that there are bad guys everywhere in Peiping. The first thing to do here is to be careful and don’t be fooled!”
Zhu Yuanzhang remembered the situation in the so-called prison, and he understood clearly.
In recent times, especially since the beginning of Jiangxi, the three aunts and six wives have been investigated, customs have been changed, and all kinds of prisoners have been sent to Peiping.
Not only Jiangxi Province, but also other provinces are doing this.
It's not just corrupt officials, bandits, aunts and wives... In fact, as long as they are considered to be immoral and have some problems, they will all be dismissed.
For example, the man Lao Zhu met, he colluded with someone else's wife, and after being exposed, he was also sent to Peking.
Although a bad family like his was despised to say so, they were actually sentenced to banishment, which shows that there is not much politeness in the current Ming Dynasty's harsh punishments.
Not only this kind of random hookup case, but too many monks and nuns were also sent to Peking.
Among the three nuns and six nuns, there were nuns and Taoist nuns, but in general, Zhu Yuanzhang was not polite when dealing with monks.
He didn't show any mercy to his old colleagues just because he had been in charge before.
Even more severe.
The result of this is that prisoners are sent to Peiping every day, ranging from a few hundred to more than a thousand.
Throughout the Ming Dynasty, there was no place with such a high proportion of prisoners.
When Lao Zhu thought about it, he felt his scalp was numb. How should he treat it?
You can't just issue a decree and have everything click, right?
The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more he felt sorry for his fourth son. The child was still young and was thrown into such a land of tigers and wolves. It was really hard for him.
"Sir, in addition to the large number of prisoners, there are also many soldiers and horses in Peiping, right?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "My lord, the number of troops currently under the Beiping Remaining Division should exceed 200,000."
"So many?" Lao Zhu was startled, and then he calculated it silently. As the emperor, he had the tightest control over the military. It was impossible that he didn't even know this. That would really make him a fool.
Lao Zhu calculated carefully and found that there was only a lot more.
The first is Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong. They have been stationed in northern Xinjiang since the liberation of Peiping. Their total number of troops was more than 80,000, and at their peak, they exceeded 100,000.
There are six guards and horses under the Commander-in-Chief of Peking City, about thirty thousand in number.
There are more than 30,000 soldiers and horses under the direct control of Prince Zhu Di's palace.
In addition, the troops of Liaodong and Guan Duo's troops were also counted under Zhu Di's name. There were as many as 40,000 to 50,000 troops.
There are also military households under the command of Hu Dahai, who are mainly responsible for building the front line of the Great Wall. Although these people can only be regarded as militia, they cannot hold up too many, and there are more than 100,000 people.
This does not include the naval forces at Dagukou.
Anyway, a rough calculation shows that Zhu Di must have two to three hundred thousand soldiers and horses.
Although the imperial court would bear most of the expenses for these soldiers and horses, Zhu Di was naturally responsible for the troops and horses stationed in Peiping and needed to provide various conveniences.
Moreover, such as the soldiers and horses of the royal palace and the militiamen who built the Great Wall, all of them were Zhu Di's responsibilities. Military pay, military rations, and expenses were like running water, so I won't talk about it here.
In western Liaoning, there is also a horse farm planned by Li Wenzhong, with more than 50,000 war horses, and they also need to be supported!
In addition to the large number of soldiers and horses, there are also many students in Peiping.
When Zhang Ximeng came, he witnessed the first batch of freshmen entering Peking University. Now it is the second batch, with more than a thousand students.
It is still those promises, the clothes that should be given should be given, the teaching materials should be prepared, pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and the famous teachers should be hired, no less.
Zhu Di worked hard in the past few years and finally evolved from poverty to debt.
"Can it be so difficult?"
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said: "Then what does Peking rely on to maintain? Can it still be sustained?"
"Now we mainly rely on two things. One is strict taxation... I must have learned this, right?"
Lao Zhu's face was very dark, "The tax collectors in Peiping do have a selfless side!"
Selfless?
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but chuckle, "My lord, maybe you don't know yet? If they catch those who evade taxes, they can get one-tenth of the reward, and the upper limit is 50,000 gold coins at a time."
In other words, if you smuggle 500,000 guan of goods and are caught by the tax collector, you can get a reward of 50,000 guan. If a million guan is found, it will only be 50,000 guan due to the upper limit.
But even so, it is quite impressive. If you are lucky enough to catch one, it can be worth decades of salary, and you can reach the sky in one step.
In addition to tax collectors, ordinary people can also file complaints.
The principle is the same, the upper limit is still 50,000 guan.
However, if there is a tax collector covering up the case, and the accusation is confirmed, the tax collector will be dismissed from office and the person who provides the information will have the opportunity to take over as tax collector.
It's just a chance, because you still need to pass the exam. If you can't even write, it still won't work.
But no matter how you put it, whether it is taxation or rewards, Peiping is far ahead of other places in the Ming Dynasty. Many of these measures were instigated by Fang Xiaoru, Qitai and others in recent times.
These people often say that they have lost the kindness of Confucian disciples and only have the calculations of Legalist disciples.
The punishments and laws are severe everywhere, and the people are plotted against at every turn.
"No matter what, as long as it can make up for the shortfall." Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "Besides taxation, what other ways are there?"
"That's the workshop." Zhang Ximeng said: "I heard that my lord is in Yingtian. Have you discussed these matters?"
Lao Zhu sighed softly, "Sir, we didn't like your idea of developing industry and commerce in the past... But now that I think about it, we must not only develop industry and commerce, but also develop it well. Only in this way can we get out of the predicament... Otherwise, there will be no
Stop investing in labor and everyone will earn hard money. Working hard all day long, all year round, will not help!"
Zhang Ximeng was greatly surprised. He didn't expect that Lao Zhu would see through it. It was really not easy!
Intensive cultivation is a kind of scrolling, which involves burning ordinary porcelain into works of art. It is also scrolling, as well as various textiles, embroidery... The exquisite craftsmanship is certainly amazing, but behind it is the result of thousands of years of extreme internal scrolling.
People outside just feel that it is so magical that they want to kneel down and worship.
But only those who have truly mastered the skills know how difficult this thing is.
Perhaps this is the reason why many intangible cultural heritage items are facing loss. After all, who wants to have trouble with themselves?
"Sir, is there anything we can do in Peiping now?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a low voice. As the emperor, he naturally hoped to find an unprecedented path.
Zhang Ximeng said: "Breakthroughs are indeed happening. Since last year, breakthroughs in looms have been happening continuously. The situation is very good, but..."
"Just what? Are you in trouble?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
Zhang Ximeng said: "It's not really any trouble. It's just that in the workshop, workers die of exhaustion or illness every day."
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, and after a while he said: "Is that much?"
"There aren't many in the woolen mills, mainly in the lumber mills. In the past month, more than 230 prisoners have been killed by falling, crushing, or exhaustion!"
Zhang Ximeng made it very clear that these people were all assigned prisoners and could not be considered good people.
But even so, it is shocking to see so many deaths.
Logging is not only tiring, but also life-threatening!
Lao Zhu let out a long sigh, "We understand!" After saying that, Lao Zhu paused and said, "Go back. Are you waiting for me, Fourth?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "Of course, His Highness Prince Yan is probably worried about his lord spanking him!"
Lao Zhu shook his head, "Why should I beat him? We still want to reward him!"