In the fifth month of the third year of Chongzhen.
Beijing.
More than two months have passed since the Jin army entered the pass and the bandits wreaked havoc, but the capital is still shrouded in a depressing and sad atmosphere. Many people's white flags have not been removed, and in the dead of night you can still hear people wailing.
sound.
At the end of last year, the Tatars invaded outside the customs and caused too much damage to the capital. The cities of Zunhua, Yongping, Luanzhou, Qian'an and other cities were defeated. The generals and generals were killed and more than ten people were captured. The three camps were defeated.
, the main force of the Ming army in the field around Shuntian Mansion was completely annihilated, with more than 70,000 people killed, and more than 100,000 people and livestock looted.
Not to mention that almost every family in the capital wore mourning, and the entire area around the capital was wailing, as if they had experienced the end of the world.
In the Forbidden City.
Emperor Chongzhen, a young man who had just turned 20 years old this year, was also severely hit by such a huge failure and fell into a state of doubting his life.
Didn't Yuan Chonghuan say that he was very capable of fighting and that if he was given five years, he would be able to pacify Liaodong and eliminate Hou Jin?
Isn’t it true that all the people in the DPRK are upright? Aren’t the virtuous ministers and gentlemen of the Donglin Party all talented and capable enough to help the world?
The eunuchs headed by Wei Zhongxian were quickly eradicated and purged when he first came to the throne. In the process of dealing with the eunuchs, a lot of silver was obtained from the property, which enriched the national treasury, plus some accumulated during the Tianqi years.
The silver tael gave him the confidence and confidence to cheer up the Ming Dynasty and make achievements comparable to those of Yao and Shun.
Or even to save more money.
He briefly abolished the Jin Yiwei and abolished his own eyes and ears. Later, he found that it was not working and restored it, but he could no longer achieve his previous abilities, and his understanding and control of all parts of the country were greatly reduced.
He also laid off all the post stations across the country, just to save 300,000 taels per year. As a result, a postman named Li lost his job and had to join the rebellious peasant army, causing great turmoil in Shan and Shaanxi.
All the money that was finally saved was given to the Donglin ministers and Yuan Chonghuan, whom they highly recommended.
What's the result?
What did he get in exchange for his sincerity and unreserved trust?
Yuan Chonghuan had already been dismissed from his job and imprisoned. Zhu Youjian privately gritted his teeth with hatred for this liar who spoke freely. He had made up his mind that he must be executed in Lingchi. It was useless to plead for mercy.
In addition, he also realized that the Donglin Party cannot be used, such as Qian Longxi, the chief minister of the cabinet. When they impeach someone and make suggestions, they make impassioned speeches and speak clearly and logically.
No effective strategy can be devised.
He couldn't even think of a way to increase the court's income. Instead, he only wanted money here and there, but even if he emptied his money, he couldn't solve any problems, and instead made the problems more serious.
Even if Chongzhen was a fool at this time, he still understood that the Donglin Party was a group of guys who only knew how to talk.
What's more, he is not stupid at all. Although he is very young now and has a somewhat impatient personality, he is really not someone who can be fooled casually.
And after the anger has passed.
Like a very thorough gambler who lost after a try, a new question now posed in front of Zhu Youjian: What to do next?
Inside the Huangji Palace.
Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian once again convened the cabinet chief minister Cheng Jiming, Wenyuange bachelor Zhou Yanru, Dongge bachelor He Ruchong, Qian Xiangkun, Hubu Shangshu Bi Ziyan, Libu Shangshu Wang Yongguang, Gongshu
Cao Yu, the Minister of the Ministry, Cao Yubian, the Censor of Zuodu of the Imperial Palace, Liang Tingdong, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and other ministers gathered together to discuss state affairs.
The most important thing to discuss is the commonplace financial issue. After all, the current young man Zhu Youjian is basically bankrupt, but he has a lot of messes to clean up, and he needs to organize the army and train to clean up the aftermath that has just brought shame to the empire.
We need to collect taxes to provide relief for natural disasters that frequently occur in various places. We need to completely eradicate the rogue bandits in Shan and Shaanxi. However, the chaos in She'an in Sichuan and Guizhou has not yet been completely quelled...
The pile of problems before him was like a big ship leaking water on all sides, which put great pressure on the young emperor.
"Mr. Cheng Ge, Zhou Aiqing, and all the cabinet ministers, can you think of a way for me to add some money to the court, suppress the bandits internally, and pacify Liaodong externally, and there is no money. How can we accomplish these important things? Please enlighten me, ministers.
"
Zhu Youjian scanned the bottom and humbly asked for advice.
"Your Majesty, now that the national treasury is empty, natural disasters are frequent, and the people are in poverty and unable to afford taxes, the court has little possibility to increase its revenue. The only way to generate more money is by your Majesty and his subordinates, caring for the people and spending money prudently, eliminating redundant palace staff and eunuchs, and saving money.
.”
Shoufu Cheng Jiming repeated his previous views.
"I only have two dishes and one soup for each meal. I wear clothes made for me by the queen and concubines. The palace eunuchs have cut them off several times. How do you want me to save? How much money can I save?"
Zhu Youjian patted the chair and stared at Cheng Jiming with resentment, very dissatisfied with his proposal.
"The old minister is guilty, your Majesty, please punish me."
Cheng Jiming quickly knelt on the ground to apologize.
"Does Zhou Aiqing have any good ideas?"
Zhu Youjian shook his head and had no choice but to look at Zhou Yanru, the second assistant he trusted and relied on the most. He no longer had any hope for Cheng Jiming, who was not useful.
“The only option is to raise taxes!”
Zhou Yanru said: "There are more than 51.6 million hectares of registered land in the world. With an additional tax of three cents per mu, we can get more than 1.5 million taels of silver. With 15 taels of silver, we can raise one soldier every year and train 100,000 elite soldiers. Then we pay first
The rogue bandits will be exterminated in Houjin for at least five years and at most ten years. After that, the additional levies will be canceled and the people will be allowed to recuperate and restore their strength. If the monarch and his ministers work together and everything goes well, the people only need to be patient for a while, and eventually all the hardships will be over."
"The additional tax of three cents of silver is not much. It is only equivalent to an extra liter of two liters of rice per mu. It is not a heavy burden on the people."
"Secondly, for tax-heavy areas such as Jiangnan and Huguang, we can intensify the examination of officials in various places to see how they have completed the collection. Suppose a county has set a collection of 10,000 taels, and those who have completed more than 90% will be evaluated and rewarded.
Those who have completed 80% will be classified as medium and will not be punished or rewarded; those who have completed less than 70% will be punished... With this test method in place, county officials in various places will definitely perform their duties conscientiously and solve the problem of the court's lack of money."
Zhou Yanru immediately proposed two methods that sounded very feasible.
"good!"
Zhu Youjian nodded. He was indeed a capable minister whom he valued and trusted. He was much better than those Donglin and his ilk.
"Your Majesty, you can't do that. This is drinking poison to quench your thirst."
Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Household Affairs, had to stand up and said: "Now that there are strange signs, frequent floods and droughts in various places, the people are extremely miserable, the local government is corrupt, and corrupt officials are rampant. The top priority is to reduce the burden on the people, reduce and reduce taxes in the disaster-stricken areas, and let people
The people recuperated and restored their strength. If they depleted the lakes to fish and killed the chickens to obtain eggs, the imperial court would only add three cents. In order to complete the collection, the local government would add three cents or even higher. The people in Gansu and Shaanxi have already rebelled. If more troops are sent, the people will
If we cannot survive, the whole country will rebel, and more people will rebel."
"this……"
Zhu Youjian hesitated and said, "Can it be that in the prosperous land of Jiangnan and Huguang, the people can't bear the tax increase of several cents?"
"The people in Jiangnan and Huguang are already burdened with a heavy burden. Eighty percent of the taxes levied by the imperial court come from these two places. If you add more taxes, the officials below will continue to crush their bones and suck their marrow. No matter how rich Jiangnan is, they cannot afford it. I heard that the people in many places in Jiangnan,
Because the taxes are too heavy, they have fled elsewhere."
Wang Yongguang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, spoke up and said that he had a good understanding of the situation in the south of the Yangtze River. The people in the south began to flee. In addition to the subordinate officials beating the bones and sucking out the marrow, there was another reason he did not mention, that is, due to the increase in taxes, a large number of people donated their land.
Under the name of the gentry, the trend of donation has arisen. If taxes are added, more farmers will choose to donate, and they will not be able to collect any taxes.
Zhu Youjian didn't know what to say. He also knew that the people were in trouble and they were suffering. Could it be that his current situation was still difficult? Adding a little more burden and gritting one's teeth and enduring for a few years was really not an option.
"Can you increase the commercial tax? I heard that there were many wealthy merchants in the Ming Dynasty, they cultivated industries extensively, and extravagance was prevalent. Can you increase the commercial tax a little more so that the merchants can endure for the country for a few years?"
He had an idea and wanted to slap the businessman on the head.
"No, merchants are also His Majesty's subjects, so they cannot be exploited too much."
"Your Majesty, the former Emperor Shenzong was fond of wealth, sent eunuchs to exploit it wantonly, and competed with the people for profit at every turn. We must learn from his lessons."
"Although merchants are humble, they are indispensable. If the merchants are overburdened and the court increases taxes by one tael, they will make an extra ten or one hundred taels from the people, causing prices to skyrocket and causing greater damage to the people. Your Majesty, please think carefully.
ah."
"Scientists, farmers, industry and commerce, agriculture is the foundation of the country and is the source of 90% of the tax. Businessmen pay very little tax, less than 10%. Even if the business tax is increased ten times, they will not receive a few taels. If the farmers' national capital is damaged due to business tax, then
Not only can we not collect commercial taxes, but the farmers and common people have also rebelled, and everything has been lost."
"..."
At this time, except for Zhou Yanru who did not dissuade him, all the ministers strongly opposed the increase in commercial taxes.
The discussion lasted more than two hours.
The meeting ended without any results.
…
On the way back to the harem to rest.
The young emperor Zhu Youjian, who was very tired both mentally and physically, asked the eunuch Wang Chengen who was standing beside him: "My dear friend, do you know who the richest person in the world is? Can business taxes be collected?"
"Your Majesty, the richest people in the world are those businessmen. I heard that there is a Xujiazhuang in southern Zhili. The owner of this village, Xu Yuan, is as rich as anyone in the country. The most popular life-size glass mirror in the capital, worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, came from this village.
, we sell thousands of noodles every year, not including soap, sugar, watches, lighters and other items."
Wang Chengen told the truth about what he knew about the situation.
"Xujiazhuang, Xuyuan?"
Zhu Youjian muttered and wrote down the name.
He had heard a little bit about life-size glass mirrors, soaps and other emerging products. There was a life-size glass mirror in the palace of Concubine Tian in the harem. Her father Tian Hongyu bought it from Yangzhou and sent it to Chengqian Palace.
Also delivered were soaps, shower gels and other items. I remember that during that time, Concubine Tian always smelled good. Zhu Youjian was extremely fond of her and stayed at Chengqian Palace for several months in a row.
Later, Empress Zhou and other concubines also used soap, shower gel and other products, and their bodies were fragrant. In addition, Concubine Tian was pregnant and could not sleep with her, so they were soaked in rain and dew.
As for the life-size glass mirror, under the advice of Queen Zhou, he asked Concubine Tian to sell the mirror and use a small glass mirror on the grounds of saving money for the country. The extra silver was used for military expenses. For this reason, Tian
The imperial concubine regretted leaving her for a long time, which made Zhu Youjian feel very guilty because he couldn't even satisfy his beloved woman with a full-length mirror.
I also thought of the extremely wealthy Xujiazhuang.
Zhu Youjian couldn't help but have unrealistic fantasies, and said to himself: "Can I start collecting this business tax from wealthy people like Xu Yuan?"