The imperial edict of never adding taxes was officially issued to the people by Shuntianfu Yamen the day after the pilgrimage.
When the notice was posted, it instantly attracted countless people to watch and discuss it, including many merchants and gentry.
Of course, the majority are ordinary people, and their response is also the biggest. After all, this is directly related to them.
"His Majesty the Emperor has decreed that from the second year of the Apocalypse onwards, the Ming Dynasty will never increase taxes on the whole country, the two capitals and the thirteen provinces!"
"good!"
When the official of the Hanlin Academy who was responsible for reading out the edict announced the content, the people who crowded together to listen all clapped their hands and applauded.
"Your Majesty is so kind!"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty is aware that our life will be much easier in the future!"
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"
Of course, there was official support among the crowd. The emperor issued this decree to win over the people and support them. How could the Jin Yiwei and the fans let go of such a good opportunity?
Under their deliberate instigation, it can be said that the emotions of the crowd were completely aroused, and everyone chanted words such as "long live the emperor, the emperor is a sage and a wise king".
The official who announced the decree was also smiling when he saw this scene. He was naturally a member of the faction that supported the emperor. He was naturally happy to see the emperor win the hearts of the people.
In the past few days, all the officials and people from the military and horse departments of the five cities were beating gongs and drums in the streets to publicize the emperor's will.
The newspaper offices under the Information Department, after days and nights of non-stop printing, finally produced tens of thousands of newspapers.
Under the instruction of the cabinet, a group of special personnel were organized to carry out propaganda in villages and towns outside the city with notices and newspapers.
As for conveying this message to the whole country and fully implementing it, it would not be possible in half a year with the transportation and information of this era, so Zhu Youxiao was not in a hurry.
The policy has been issued, but the specific implementation still needs to be implemented by the people below.
In fact, the reason and purpose of his decree was mainly to win over the people in the north and to increase his reputation and presence in the north.
As for the south, he doesn't care much about it now. After all, it's thousands of miles away and out of reach.
As long as he can guarantee his authority and reputation in the north, there will be no major turmoil or uncontrollable things happening within the Ming Dynasty.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty in history, the people in the north had lost all their support and the emperor could no longer control the north, which was why there were so many uprisings and rebellions.
The most violent peasant uprising occurred in Shaanxi. Not only were natural disasters the cause, man-made disasters were also the main factors.
In Shaanxi at that time, due to droughts, locust plagues, earthquakes, etc., there were refugees all over the place, and the people were in dire straits.
The imperial court, however, still required the people to pay normal taxes, and Liao Xiang also had to collect taxes in place. Coupled with the corruption of local officials, the people who were already unable to survive were even worse.
Shaanxi has a vast territory and was the site of the Four Wars at that time. The Mongolian Tumut tribe in the north and the Tatar Tumut tribe in the west would enter the Koudagao Valley from time to time.
If the army in the border town could defeat the Mongols, it would be a good thing to win the battle. At most, the people would just grab more food to support the officers and soldiers.
If it can't be done, it will be a disaster. Not only can't save money and food, but also can't save life.
The territory was not peaceful either. The minority people, especially the Hui people, rebelled as a whole and also robbed the people and started wars.
Therefore, the army in the northwest has a certain degree of combat effectiveness. Compared with other military towns in Jiubian, it can be regarded as an elite force.
Emperor Chongzhen, who was known as the so-called ambitious, cherished the people, and was born at the wrong time, did not think of ways to reduce the burden on the people, and even increased the suppression of Xiang and Lian Xiang.
He was completely forcing the people to take the path of rebellion. It can be said that the Ming Dynasty perished in his hands, and it can be said that he completely deserved it.
Those who praised him in various ways in later generations, if he were allowed to travel to Shaanxi in the late Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that he would willingly become the vanguard of Li Zicheng and rebel against the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Youxiao once flipped through some books, and he vaguely remembered that at that time, 30% of the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue came from Shaanxi Province, and the extremely wealthy Jiangnan area only accounted for 20% of it.
It can be seen from this that the finances of the Ming Dynasty were already in a state of collapse, and the court and the emperor had no control over the wealthy landlords.
It can even be said that how much taxes, money and food the court can collect depends on how much these wealthy landowners are willing to pay.
As for the powerless common people, it can be said that they have been exploited to the extreme. How can such a court have prestige and how can the people gather together?
Therefore, when Wang Er killed officials and rebelled, countless people in the northwest responded. In just a few years, dozens of giant bandits emerged.
At first, it was just ordinary people who could not survive and rebelled, and the situation had not yet gotten out of hand.
But four years after Chongzhen, many border soldiers appeared within the peasant army, and they also began to participate in the rebellion.
Why? Because the imperial court owed them a large amount of food and salary. Even after the court allocated food and salary, the generals and officials would still have to withhold most of it.
It can be said that there are very few in their hands. As the saying goes, the emperor still needs hungry soldiers. It doesn't matter if he doesn't give them money or food. Who is willing to go to the battlefield to fight life and death?
As the saying goes, you would rather be starved to death than starve to death. These desperate frontier soldiers simply defected to the peasant army to grab money and food and live freely.
Therefore, in the history of the late Ming Dynasty, the presence of frontier troops in several military towns in the northwest was not high, and the emperor and the court rarely mobilized and mobilized them.
After all, the army is almost empty, and the generals have become mere commanders, so how can they go to war?
Not to mention having to guard against the invasion of Mongols and the rebellion of the minority people.
As for the courtiers, officials, and emperor at that time, they could not have been unaware of the corruption caused by financial collapse and excessive taxes.
As for why there is no change, it still depends on the ruling emperor himself. Who doesn't know that Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian is a person who wants to save face and suffer.
When Li Zicheng laid siege to Beijing, he had already arranged for Wang Chengen to run away. However, after receiving a few words from the minister, he was discouraged on the spot and did not dare to mention it.
Moreover, he is extremely narrow-minded, has no tolerance for others, and is suspicious by nature. How dare he go to war with courtiers, officials, and the wealthy gentry and wealthy people in the world.
Zhu Youxiao is not Zhu Youjian. If it is really irreversible, he would rather the Ming Dynasty was tortured to death by him than live in a broken pot.
Only by stabilizing the people's hearts in the north can Zhu Youxiao be able to achieve anything. As long as large-scale civil unrest does not break out in the north, the Ming Dynasty will not be full of wars like in history.