Tens of millions of acres of land to harvest 3 million stones of grain and raise 80,000 soldiers... This requirement is really not too high!
When Zhang Juzheng was in power, this amount of imperial rations had to be handed over, and the actual troops in the four towns of Xuan, Da, Chang, and Jing must have exceeded 80,000.
Zhu Youjian's ability to fight and tease people is definitely better than Zhang Juzheng's! It is impossible for Zhang Juzheng to challenge Mongolia's number one warrior in a duel!
Moreover, there are a lot of internal and external troubles in the Ming Dynasty now. The little emperor collects some food and trains some troops, just to protect the country of the Ming Dynasty!
If the Ming Dynasty is protected, only the glory and wealth of everyone can be preserved, right?
Zhu Youjian's eyes slowly slid over the faces of the ministers in the palace, taking in all the faces of the treacherous ministers who showed no expression of joy or anger.
Except for Luo Sigong, Luo Yangxing and his son, the traitorous ministers who came to Nanhaizi's palace today were all civil servants, and Zhu Youjian was mainly dealing with nobles and hereditary military attachés in and around Beijing. Xuan and Daer towns are both solid border towns, and of course they are the domain of generals and military officials. Most of the land in Northern Zhili and the capital was occupied by honorable ministers, hereditary military attaches and eunuchs. Of course, there was also a certain share of civil servants. For example, Huang Liji and Sun Chengzong were both landlords and scholar-bureaucrats in Beizhili. But in general, their share is not large, and officials of all dynasties and generations have certain tax-free privileges. As long as the amount of land they occupy is not too large, they can continue to enjoy tax-free privileges.
Civil servants who are registered outside of Beizhili and Xuan and Daer towns will basically not be harmed, and can even benefit from the increased strength of the imperial court - now the civil unrest in the northwest is getting bigger and bigger, and the chaos in She'an in the southwest There is no end to it, and Hou Jin is rising again in the Northeast. The Ming Dynasty was in turmoil, and those of them who were civil servants were at greater risk. If the place where they were serving as officials was destroyed, wouldn't they be martyred for their country?
Therefore, if the imperial court can have 80,000 soldiers who can actually fight, their official positions will be secure!
"Your Majesty," Sun Chengzong of the Donglin Party stood behind him and was the first to speak. "I think it is not excessive to harvest 3 million Shihuang grain per year in Beizhili, Xuanfu, and Datong. The actual land and land in these three places is not excessive at all. For an area of more than 60 million acres, the annual income is 3 million shi, which is only 5 liters per acre on average, and at most it is only 20 shi per hectare.
As for raising 80,000 troops, that is a must! Originally, one Beijing camp alone had 140,000 troops! Including the three towns of Xuan, Da, and Chang, there are 400,000 troops! Now we have reduced the number of 80,000 capable troops, which is a great good governance for the country and the people! "
Sun Chengzong's old enemy, the Minister of War, King Wang, rarely reached an agreement with Sun Chengzong in Jin, and immediately expressed his position: "Your Majesty, I also thought that the annual revenue of 3 million shi in Beizhili, Xuanfu, and Datong would be enough to support 80,000 elites. The military is a policy to consolidate the origin of the world. As long as it can be implemented, the world will be as stable as a rock."
In fact, these 80,000 elite soldiers are not many. There are already 40,000 in Datong, and the six regiment leaders Gao Hongtu, Shi Kefa, Yang Sichang, Lu Zhenfei, Lu Daqi, and He Tengjiao still have more than 20,000 in their hands. The remaining 20,000 troops will be handed over to Xuanfu Town... Zhu Youjian is preparing to train 20,000 new troops in Xuanfu after Sun Yuanhua arrives with foreign soldiers and generals.
Chief Assistant Huang Liji frowned, "Your Majesty, the current tax on land and grain in Beizhili is less than 600,000 dan. Counting additional dispatches, the actual revenue is only 4 to 50,000 dan..."
"Hubu," Zhu Youjian looked at Feng Quan, the Minister of Hubu, "what do you think? 50 million acres is worth four to five million shi. How much grain does one pay per acre? One liter? Is that two catties or three catties? Yes Isn’t it too little?”
It is indeed less...if these four to five million stone emperor grains can really be spread over 50 million acres of land! Even if it is increased to five liters per mu, it is only 11 or 2 kilograms, which is not a big burden for farmers.
But the problem is that there are too many powerful people in Beizhili, and the powerful people do not pay taxes on the land they occupy, so the people who bear the tax of 500,000 stone are only a few homesteaders who own very little land.
"Your Majesty," Feng Quan, the Minister of Household Affairs, said, "The ancestral system of this dynasty is that officials and scholars, and those who are elected have the advantage of being exempted from food..."
Zhu Youjian laughed, looked at Feng Quan and said: "Feng Quan, are you afraid? Are you afraid of offending the officials and scholar-bureaucrats in Beizhili? When you knelt by the road and cried to Wei Ni, why didn't you know you were afraid? You asked Wei Ni How come Wei Ni didn't know how to be afraid when he suggested using the imperial staff and setting up great prisons? I ask you, have you ever suggested that Wei Ni conspire to usurp the throne?"
"Your Majesty..." Feng Quan was reminded by Zhu Youjian, and he immediately came to his senses. He quickly threw himself to the ground and kowtowed like garlic, "Your Majesty, I have no choice but to adhere to Wei Ni. I am loyal to the Ming Dynasty." , I, I, I will go through fire and water for the sake of Long Live Lord, even if I die!"
Zhu Youjian smiled: "Then I ask you, how much tax should you pay on the 50 million acres of land in Beizhili?"
How dare Feng Quan bargain with Zhu Youjian, "3 million, 3 million stones... You can't pay less than one stone!"
"How to collect 3 million stones?" Zhu You asked, "Should we ask the small people who have no land to stand on to collect it, or should we ask the big households who occupy thousands of fields to collect it?"
"Everything must be harvested, according to the land, five liters per acre..."
"Okay!" Zhu Youjian nodded, "You go down and become the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, in charge of the clearing of land, land inspection, and tax sharing in the 22 counties of the five prefectures of Shuntian Prefecture... In addition to the duties of Tian and me in front of the account army, On the Huangzhuang farmland, the grain tax of five liters per acre is unavoidable!" His tone suddenly became stern, "Anyone who refuses to pay the tax will be arrested and sent to Ji Liao and Yan Yun as dead soldiers! If you, Feng Quan, dare not go Take it, I will arrest you and serve as a dead soldier in front of the Liaoxi Army!"
Feng Quan was a remnant of the eunuch party, and he could have joined the rebel party in his old age. It was justifiable for Zhu Youjian to kill him!
Feng Quan kowtowed repeatedly, "I will accept it according to Long Live Lord's wishes...I will accept it!"
"Huang Liji, Xu Yingyuan!" Zhu Youjian said calmly, "Now, draft the edict and wear red... Beizhili has implemented a new tax law. Officials and gentry will pay grain together, with a tax of five liters per mu, and former military positions will be eliminated. Fentian, Huangzhuang, and the rest are inevitable!
In addition, Feng Quan was appointed as Shuntian Prefecture, and the tax reform was implemented by Shuntian Prefecture! "
Is this an order? It's against the rules!
Huang Liji and Xu Yingyuan were both dumbfounded. It was not a court meeting now, and... none of the six subjects were present! It involves such a big thing as Zhili's tax reform, and also implements the unified payment of grain by officials and gentry. If there are no six departments to participate in the matter, the department will definitely refute it when the time comes!
However, Xu Yingyuan, the master of ceremonies and the pen bearer, did not dare to say anything, and immediately ordered the little eunuch beside him to get the pen and ink to start this chapter.
"Your Majesty," Huang Liji was the chief assistant and had to maintain the system, so he had to bite the bullet and said, "Liuke Shizhong is not here... It would be better to summon Liuke Shizhong to Nanhaizi tomorrow and then go to the university." An edict?"
He didn't dare to object, otherwise he would have to be imprisoned even if he didn't become a dead soldier - he was a fellow villager of Wei Zhongxian, and he was also the chief assistant promoted by Wei Zhongxian!
Zhu Youjian snorted and smiled: "I am a benevolent king, you ministers must be content! I want to reform the land tax in Beizhili, not for my own enjoyment, but to train soldiers to defend the captives and defeat the thieves... The reason why We need to reform it in Beizhili. First, because Beizhili is under the emperor’s feet. If I can’t manage things under my own feet, I can’t control other places. Secondly, once the slaves break through the wall, Beizhili will die. Spanning the countryside, Beizhili will become the second Liao Town!
So the land tax reform in Beizhili is about self-help... If the people in Beizhili cannot save themselves, how can they expect people from all over the world to come to save them?
None of the current six subjects are from Beizhili. How can they block the military and civilian tax reform in Beizhili to save themselves? If so, where is their conscience? Sun Chengzong, you are from Beizhili. Do you agree with Beizhili’s tax reform to save itself? "
Sun Chengzong is the elder of Donglin, and most of the current six subjects are Donglin Party members, so Zhu Youjian now wants Sun Chengzong to express his position.
"Your Majesty," Sun Chengzong said, "the tax reform in Northern Zhili is a good thing, and I completely agree with it... I believe that the Sixth Section will also support your Majesty."
"Okay!" Zhu Youjian said, "Tomorrow I will hold a small court meeting in Nanhaizi to finalize all the tax reform in Zhili! If the Sixth Section wants to exercise scientific reference rights in the matter, then I will let them go to Liaoxi Defend the territory in front of the army!"
full text