It is not certain whether the taxes collected by the state will be enough to provide salaries to the clan.
"What do you think?" Seeing that Gu Chen didn't speak, Zhu Biao said softly: "There is no one else here, so just speak boldly."
"Whether you are right or wrong, no one else will know."
Of course, his father doesn't count.
Zhu Biao knew what Gu Chen was worried about. He was afraid of offending the princes.
Gu Chen really didn't want to say it, but when he thought about himself, he still wanted to hug Zhu Biao's thigh...
Now, isn't it the time to express yourself?
"Your Highness."
Gu Chen's heart skipped a beat, and after making up his mind to show off, he cupped his hands and answered.
"I think we can think of ways to control the number of titles."
Seeing that Zhu Biao still didn't quite understand, he made it clearer.
"What I mean is to control the number of vassal princes marrying and taking concubines so that they can have fewer children. That way there will be no problem."
This is a method perfected by the three generations of Zhu Jianshen, Zhu Youxian, Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Houcong.
It's a pity that it was implemented a little later. By that time, the number of clans in the Ming Dynasty could not be underestimated.
If it had been controlled like this since the reign of Taizu, the effect would have been pretty good.
Lao Zhu should be better able to accept this suggestion.
What's going on?
In the mid-Ming Dynasty, many clans used having children as a way to make a fortune.
Marrying without permission and having concubines is a trivial matter, and there are even cases of using illegitimate children to pretend to be concubines.
He used his adopted son to pretend to be a concubine and defrauded the imperial court of his title and salary.
Isn't this improper defrauding state property and oppressing ordinary people?
Therefore, starting from Zhu Jianshen, the following generations of emperors gradually controlled the development of the situation. First, it was stipulated that anyone whose biological mother's origin was unknown would not be given a title.
There were also cases where the biological mother was born from an illegitimate family, and the court would not recognize them.
In the late Jiajing period, the policy of limiting the age of concubines began.
Taking the county prince as an example, those who are over twenty-five years old and whose original wife, the princess, has no children, are allowed to marry two concubines only after a thorough examination.
Although it still could not prevent unauthorized marriage and concubinage, that was because the Ming Dynasty at that time was already suffering from internal and external troubles, and there were too many conflicts to count.
The emperors, who had no energy left, stared at the royal family's back house and tried their best.
To put it bluntly, some rules were not established at the beginning.
Kunning Palace.
After Lao Zhu heard what Zhu Biao said, he immediately stopped eating.
He put down the bowl and chopsticks and asked: "The prince is only allowed to have two concubines after he is twenty-five years old and childless, and he is only allowed to have two more concubines after he is thirty-year-old and has no children?"
"If a county prince is childless at twenty-five, he can take a concubine. If he is childless at thirty, can he add another concubine? After giving birth to a son, he cannot take a concubine?"
Zhu Biao smiled and nodded, then explained softly.
"From then on, until the clan is forty years old, if there are still no children every five years, one more concubine can be added. After forty, no concubines are allowed regardless of whether there are any children."
According to Gu Chen.
After you are forty years old, taking a little girl as a concubine is a pure waste of people.
It is better to let people marry people of the same age and have healthy children when the time comes.
Either farming and paying taxes, or doing business and taking imperial examinations are all good.
Aren't these greater contributions than being a clan member, doing nothing all day long, relying on the country for support, and being a rice insect?
It is a good thing for the country and the family.
What's more, poor people can't get wives, and rich people have many wives and concubines. Uneven distribution will also cause unrest among the people.
It’s not that he looks down on women, he just thinks women should be like that.
It is mainly an agricultural society, and the main force in production is indeed men.
Men, on the other hand, pursue nothing more than those.
Food and women!
If they don't have enough to eat and can't find a wife, how can these people not rebel?
Wasn't Lao Zhu this kind of person back then?
Lao Zhu continued to ask: "Generals can only take a concubine if they are thirty years old and have no children. Can they add another concubine if they are forty years old and have no children?"
In this way, how can there be many children and blessings, and how can the descendants of the Zhu family spread all over the world?
Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Yes, my son thinks this method is very good."
Not chilling the hearts of his younger brothers, his father could continue to entrust vassal kings and take back military power.
Isn't it the best of both worlds?
Hearing this, Queen Ma also voted in favor.
"When you said you wanted to divide the vassal kings and carry out hereditary inheritance from generation to generation, I told you that the imperial court could only support you so much."
"You have used it to raise the descendants of the Zhu family, so the people will eat and drink whatever they want, but you insist on having your own way. If that's the case, why not just use this method?"
"It won't wrong your descendants, and it won't be too much of a drag on the court."
How about saying that Queen Ma is virtuous?
She had no intention of letting her sons have more children and more blessings. She was more afraid that the clan would drag down the government and the people.
"Gu Chen also said." Zhu Biao squeezed Empress Ma's shoulders and said with a smile: "To prevent someone from using an illegitimate or adopted son to pretend to be a royal descendant and defraud the imperial court of titles and salaries."
"Anytime a member of the clan is pregnant, the imperial court must send an imperial doctor and a royal censor to take a pulse check to confirm that the pregnancy is pregnant, and only then can one be granted a title or title."
"Moreover, a pregnant woman must be a son of a good family selected by the Ministry of Rites, otherwise the imperial court will not recognize her."
If the clan had only a few concubines, then this work would not be so cumbersome.
"That's unreasonable." Hearing this, Lao Zhu became angry: "In his mind, Gu Chen, who does he think my Zhu family is? What do I mean by marrying without permission and having a concubine?"
"What does it mean to defraud the court's property?"
"What kind of words are these? He actually dares to mess with our children and grandchildren. How can he conclude that I, the descendants of the Zhu family, can do this?"
Harsh!
The words were too harsh and harsh, and he felt ugly when he heard them.
Zhu Biao was afraid that his father would blame Gu Chen, so he just wanted to say a few words for him.
Queen Ma comforted her son, and then glared at her husband angrily.
"Your Majesty, please don't forget that Zhu Huan is also named Zhu, and Zhu Wenzheng is also your nephew. It can be seen that people named Zhu are not good people."
"That Li Shimin is so powerful, but the clan still has a lot of unsatisfactory results. Hello Your Majesty, it doesn't mean that all the descendants in the future will be good."
"Besides, the money your Majesty gave to his descendants is quite generous. The situation mentioned by Gu Chen is really possible. Your Majesty should also think about the future emperors."
"If the support for the clan was so great that the treasury was unable to make ends meet, the emperor at that time would have no money or food. How should the court operate?"
Seeing that her husband was silent, Queen Ma sighed as she thought of what happened when she was young.
"You have also experienced hardship, so you naturally know what human nature is."
"When I was young, following my adoptive father, I also saw people taking ordinary people's heads and pretending to be Yuan soldiers in exchange for rewards just for some money."
"For the sake of some profit, we can even regard human life as nothing, let alone give birth to an illegitimate child, or use an adopted son to pretend to be a son to defraud grain and rice?"
Such a good thing, let alone the children and grandchildren, just ask her to be willing to do it when she is young.
The general's annual salary is 800 shi, which is more than 90,000 kilograms of grain.
An adult man only eats three hundred kilograms of grain in a year.
Who wouldn't be happy to do such a good thing?
Thinking of what happened when he was young, Lao Zhu was not so angry.
He looked at the eldest son, thinking about the difficulties his son might encounter when he ascends the throne.
If nothing else, money and food are definitely a problem.
The eldest son is the first son he and his wife gave birth to in times of adversity.
He loved his eldest son more than any other son.
"Then, let's do it."
Although he felt a little wronged by the other sons, Daming's future also had to be considered, and he couldn't be too selfish.
