More than twenty days later, the royal guards who were monitoring the vassal king withdrew one after another. After receiving their salaries, they learned that their yamen had been withdrawn. They were all bereaved, their careers were gone, and they could only go to farming in the future.
Those with land are better off, but without land they can only become tenant farmers.
Seeing these people in low mood, and thinking of the nearly a thousand subordinates who were far away in Mobei traveling around the map, Li Qing felt uncomfortable, and thought to himself: When they come back, they have to talk to Lao Zhu and give them the treatment they have decided before.
It's the salary you get, and you can't let people's hard work go in vain.
Now that the situation is gradually becoming clearer, sooner or later there will be a fight with the Yuan people outside the Pass. With these maps, it will be much easier to send troops in the future.
In a blink of an eye, the January period has arrived, and Li Qing went to the palace to see Lao Zhu with his prepared speech.
Lao Zhu is a bit older, but he is still in good spirits. I am even more happy to see him looking confident.
"Tea."
Xiaohuangmen immediately served hot tea and then withdrew knowingly. There were only three of them in the hall.
"Yunwen has met the teacher." Zhu Yunwen bowed slightly.
Li Qing hurriedly returned the courtesy and said with a dry smile, "Your Majesty is so polite, how dare I accept the courtesy?"
"Okay, everyone, sit down." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, "Stop playing with these nonsense, Li Qing, hurry up and get the real stuff."
"..." Li Qing cupped his hands and said bravely, "Your Majesty, the national policy I have researched may make you unhappy."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, "Tell me about it."
Zhu Yunwen also looked at him curiously, and at the same time, moved the tea cup towards him.
Li Qing held up the tea cup and muttered: "It's about the household registration system."
He was ready to try Lao Zhu's attitude.
"Before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, due to long-term wars, many household registrations were lost. For this reason, the emperor re-established an unprecedentedly strict household registration and tax system. The purpose was to restore production. He is truly a talented person..."
"Say no," Lao Zhu interrupted, "We don't like to hear these lies."
"Uh-huh... I obey the order." Li Qing smiled and said seriously, "National development needs to change with the times and the situation. If it remains unchanged, it will only restrict the Ming Dynasty from reaching its peak;
The emperor divided the household registration into: clan households, official and gentry households, civilian households (including farmers, scholars, doctors, etc.), military households (including captains, warriors, archers, military craftsmen, etc.), and craftsmen households (including:
Chefs, tailors, horsemen, etc.), salt merchants, merchants, post houses...
These are all good things, but... ahem, clan inheritance is necessary, but there is no need to restrict other things too tightly, for example: the descendants of farmers can only farm, the descendants of tailors can only be tailors, etc.;
These systems are really not conducive to the development of Ming Dynasty!"
"You are too short-sighted." Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, "You know how to hammer!"
No, this time you know how to use a hammer... Li Qing slandered, feeling helpless, "I am stupid, I hope the emperor will make it clear."
Zhu Yuanzhang hummed: "We are doing this to reassure the people, so that the people of the world will not have to worry about having a job from birth;
With the foundation for survival, the country will be stable and the world will be at peace!"
After a pause, he said, "Furthermore, as fathers pass on to sons, and sons to grandsons, from generation to generation, all the industries in our Ming Dynasty will get better and better."
This was what Zhu Yuanzhang came up with with all his efforts, and it was also his pride. No one was allowed to question it.
"Grandpa Huang, Sheng Ming." Zhu Yunwen was very discerning and immediately flattered him.
Li Qing was very helpless. Although he had been mentally prepared, he was rejected by Lao Zhu, which still made him feel disappointed.
After thinking about it, I felt a little reluctant, so I cupped my hands and said, "Your Majesty, may I allow you to express your views?"
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "Tell me."
"The emperor's doing this is equivalent to cutting off the ascending channel of the people in the world." Li Qing said seriously, "For example: if the emperor... ahem, if the minister is a tailor;
I worked hard from dawn to dusk, saved up enough money to marry a wife and children, and got my wish to marry a wife and have children..."
Lao Zhu likes this way of talking with examples. It is lively and interesting, not boring at all, and easy to understand.
Therefore, it was not interrupted.
Zhu Yunwen usually came into contact with people like this. When he suddenly heard about this way of discussing politics, he was very interested and listened with rapt attention.
Li Qing continued to coax the grandfather and grandson, "But I am not satisfied. I have a wife and children, and I still want my son to have a future."
After a pause, he said, "Your Majesty, is this not too much?"
"It's not too much, you continue." Zhu Yuanzhang was a little excited after listening to it. This was much more interesting than criticizing memorials.
Li Qing said with an aggrieved look, "I want my son to get a good name, serve the country, and honor our ancestors, but I am a tailor, and my son can only be a tailor!"
The smile on Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly froze, and he immediately fell into deep thought. After a long time, he slowly shook his head.
"Your theory has some truth to it, but... we still feel that putting people's minds at ease and giving them a basis for survival is the most important thing."
Li Qing was filled with bitterness and asked again: "Your Majesty, who do you think is stronger or weaker, Qin or Han?"
"Isn't this nonsense?" Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, "Of course he is Han."
"What about Han and Tang?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said without hesitation, "Tang!"
"Does Your Majesty know why Tang defeated Han, Han defeated Qin, and Tang defeated Qin by a much greater margin?"
"Don't you dare to lie to us." Zhu Yuanzhang felt timid and dissatisfied on his face, "I'll beat your ass to pieces if you get any more ink marks."
Li Qingdao: "Before Qin, there was slavery. After the establishment of Qin, although the system was much more relaxed, it still did not get rid of slavery completely;
The reason why Han was stronger than Qin was because it opened the way for people to rise;
During the Han Dynasty, except for the clan throne, other positions were not hereditary. As a result, the vacancies became very large, and at the same time, it also meant that there were great opportunities;
The emperor once compared Lan Yu to Zhong Qing, so let's take Wei Qing as an example;
Wei Qing was originally an inconspicuous soldier, but he became a famous general of the Han Dynasty due to his ability and military achievements. However, if there is no vacancy in the position, Wei Qing will not be able to become a general even if he is capable."
"The able ones will live there, so that those who stay will be the elites." Li Qing said seriously, "Your Majesty, Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, was from a humble background..."
After a pause, "I beg your pardon to be brave, the emperor is similar to the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, and he also comes from a humble background, including General Xu Da, General Chang Yuchun, etc., all of them are from grassroots backgrounds;
But your ability, especially the emperor, is definitely the best compared to the emperors of the past and present. What does this mean?
Origin and ability are not directly proportional!
Our Ming Dynasty now has a population of nearly 70 million, so how can we be short of talented people?"
Li Qing said sadly: "But no matter how good a talent is, if he doesn't have a chance, it's all for nothing!"
Then, continuing the topic just now: "And in the Tang Dynasty, the avenues for civil and military advancement were fully opened, and the openness of the atmosphere was unparalleled in ancient times and today, so it has the name of the prosperous Tang Dynasty." Li Qing said seriously, "Your Majesty, if the Ming Dynasty is imprisoned
How can we in the Ming Dynasty reach the heights of the Han and Tang Dynasties if we are imprisoned and do not want to change?"
Barabara...
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent. He did not refute and could not refute.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't survive, his grandson Zhu Yunwen would probably be herding cattle for Liu De's grandson right now.
The Yuan Dynasty ruined his family, but it also made him successful.
Lao Zhu came from a humble background and could understand what Li Qing meant very well.
But...the system has been formed, how can it be changed overnight?
There are already so many vested interests, and if changes are forced, it will inevitably cause great turmoil.
If you want to reform the system, you must have an emperor as iron-blooded as him, but he no longer has that time, Sun Tzu...
No matter how you look at it, he will not be an iron-blooded emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang was heartbroken and cried out sadly: "It would be great if we had this person at the beginning of the founding of the country!"
At the same time, he also regretted greatly. If Li Qing had been given special emphasis from the beginning, it might not have been too late to change the system, but now...
Lao Zhu's face was full of regret, and he lamented in his heart: "We felt that we had overestimated him enough, but unexpectedly... we still underestimated him;
If God gives us another twenty years, no, fifteen years will be enough, alas...ah!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Qing as if he were looking at a rare treasure.
That look... gave Li Qing goosebumps all over his body.
Li Qing was greatly looked at by Lao Zhu, and thought to himself: "Didn't Lao Zhu admire Han Gaozu the most?
Damn, it seems I didn’t say anything wrong!”
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang's face was getting more and more ugly, Li Qing quickly flattered him and said, "My words are inappropriate. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty is not as good as the Emperor."
After a pause, he added: "Far far!"
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't listen at all. Now he regretted and hated it. He finally realized the regret of "I was born before you were born, and I am old after you were born".
Lao Zhu was filled with grief and anger: Damn, it’s too late!
Seeing him like this, Li Qing became more and more uneasy and cursed secretly: "My God, Lao Zhu, your ability to bear this is too bad, right?
Doesn’t it mean that there is something wrong with the system you set?
Damn it, there’s so much I haven’t said yet, can’t you stand it now?