Zhu Di felt a little guilty: "Even so, the imperial court won't be able to afford it."
Zhu Gaojie said in a deep voice: "Father, you haven't figured it out yet. OK, I'll do the math for you, son. The salary of Lieutenant Fengguo, the lowest in the clan, is two hundred dan per year, which doesn't sound like much. But why don’t you stop counting them?”
Zhu Di asked: "How much?"
Zhu Gaojie said: "Is it reasonable for a generation of idle vassal kings to have thirty sons? Is it reasonable for a son to have twenty sons? A son will have ten sons, and ten will have ten sons. Is it reasonable for us? Add it all up, thirty times twenty times ten times ten, sixty thousand! A full guard only has 5,600 people. These 60,000 troops are enough to form a frontier army to guard the frontier fortress. The Ming Dynasty raised A 60,000-strong army without any fighting capacity is still a vassal. How many vassals must there be in the world?"
Zhu Di was frightened by this huge number and couldn't help but gasped: "So many?!"
What Zhu Gaojie said was not exaggerated at all.
There are some weird people in the Zhu family who have given birth to a hundred sons in a lifetime!
Zhu Di calmed down and asked, "Do you have a solution?"
He understood King Qi. When King Qi opened his mouth, he already had a solution to the problem.
He knew one thing more clearly: King Qi's ingenuity revealed on the table was just the tip of the iceberg.
Zhu Gaojie said slowly: "Each one receives the land one by one, and rests on it for the sake of his eternal career. Seeing that there are people in each government who have more money than they can use, he will start with the common people and lieutenants. When he receives the salary, he will donate three or four years of salary. , buy the land and endow it with the annual income. For those who have lost their land, the land they left behind will be given to the official sects. If the sects have not received the land, please follow the land restriction law and are not allowed to live in the land. . Those who have land are ordered to sell it to give to other clans. Those who receive land and can live in Guangqianmo, listen. So I advise you to accept the land. The remaining sons of those who receive the land are compared with the Zhengzhi and imitate the ancient ones. The husband measures and gives four points. One of them is to reduce it to the point where it can no longer be awarded. In this way, in a few decades, everyone from the general to the lieutenant level will have a permanent career without having to worry about funds."
Considering that the old man's limited cultural level may not be able to understand, he continued: "A simple understanding is that fiefdom is divided into land. Fiefdom only collects taxes, and buys a certain amount of land and gives it to you. Then you can collect rent, and the rent is compared with the tax. Dozens of times more. And after the land is divided, the descendants of the vassal will no longer be enfeoffed, thinking that it will last forever. To completely solve the vassal problem, of course, buying land will cost a lot of money."
The issue of vassalage in the Ming Empire was like a poisonous sharp blade inserted into the heart, corroding the heart of the empire step by step. It is not that no one has thought about how to solve this problem.
Xu Guangqi in the late Ming Dynasty came up with such a solution.
This dear man can be said to be an all-round talent. He introduced the idea of "the earth is round" in astronomy and calendar. In agriculture, he also wrote "Agricultural Administration Complete Book", "Sweet Potato Book", "Agricultural Relics Miscellaneous Book" and "Agricultural Book". Drafts", "Taiwan Water Law" and other works.
In mathematics, he also translated "Elements of Geometry" and personally wrote "Pythagorean Theory" and "Measuring Similarities and Differences".
In the military, Xu Guangqi admired the manufacture of firearms, vigorously promoted the introduction of artillery, and made great use of firearms. He wrote works such as "The Essentials of Fire Attack" and "The Method of Making Gunpowder".
It would be fine if they were just scientific research talents. In fact, scientific research is just Xu Guangqi's side job. His main job is politics. He was a Jinshi in Wanli. His official position was Chongzhen, Minister of Rites, Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, and Second Assistant to the Cabinet. He was second only to the First Assistant. The second-in-command in the cabinet.
While fighting wits and courage with the old foxes in the court to sit at the core of the empire, while doing scientific research, he accidentally became a top figure in the scientific research community of the Ming Dynasty...
As for how to solve the problem of vassalage, Xu Guangqi also found a way to change the feudal land into land. It was based on the system of enfeoffing and dividing land between the Xia and Yin Shang Dynasties, and there were also specific measures. However, by this time in the late Ming Dynasty, even a god like Xu Guangqi could not save him. came back.
When a country is about to perish, monsters will appear. There are ways to save the country, but no one dares to do these things. The Zhu family could not be offended, and the local gentry could not handle it. All the people who were missing or missing were reported. Whoever dares to stand up and oppose, count how many heads they can chop off.
As long as you dare to touch these things, let alone Xu Guangqi, who is now the second-in-command in the cabinet. Even if you are the first-in-command in the cabinet and the chief minister, you will have to let the nine tribes have fun.
…
Zhu Di thought for a moment and praised: "It's really a fairy strategy that eradicated the troubles of the Ming dynasty. No matter how they gave birth, they only had so much land in the end. If they gave birth to more, they would not be able to support them. If they gave birth to less, they would be passed on longer." .”
Thinking of this, Zhu Di couldn't help but asked in confusion: "How did you get such a big head? How did you come up with these evil strategies?"
He felt frightened when he heard the problem, but King Qi was able to come up with a solution so calmly.
Although he was accustomed to King Qi's evil thoughts from time to time, Zhu Di was always amazed every time he heard these ideas that King Qi came up with.
Zhu Gaojie smiled and said, "It's just about reading more books and reading more newspapers."
Zhu Di didn't believe it and didn't ask further.
But what he didn't expect was that what King Qi said this time was true.
"But have you ever thought about a question?"
Zhu Di turned around and said, "Although this can remove the heavy oppression caused by the vassal clan, which is beneficial to the court, it is harmful to the Zhu family. You are a member of the Zhu family. If you become emperor in the future, your sons will always be vassal kings." , the vassal king is reborn as the county king, and his descendants will repeat it endlessly. The knife you are thinking of to deal with the vassal lord now will also fall on your descendants in the future."
The reason why Zongfan can live as long as the country is because they are the Zhu family.
Zhu Gaojie himself is a member of the Zhu family, and he himself is a beneficiary of the vassal policy. Now he is sharpening his knife to attack the Zhu family. In the end, sooner or later, this knife will hit him.
When Zhu Gaojie became the emperor, except for the son who became the emperor, all the other sons would cry.
Isn’t our father cheating on his son?
Zhu Gaojie smiled slightly: "If the Zongfan is not cured, it will poison the Ming Dynasty for a long time. If the Ming Dynasty is gone, will the Zongfan still be named Zhu?"
Zhu Di suddenly realized: "Yes, you are right. If the country is gone, what will happen to the vassal state?"
The Ming Dynasty belongs to the Zhu family, and the Zhu family also belongs to the Ming Dynasty. They both prosper and lose.
Zongfan can do anything to make money, but they are unwilling to commit treason against the enemy, because if the country is gone, the death of their clan will be imminent. Of course, Zhu Qizhen is not among this group.
If the Ming Dynasty was gone, what would be the use of giving so many good policies to the vassals?
Zhu Gaojie's words hit the nail on the head and made Zhu Di feel a lot.
Although I am picking meat from your vassal's bowl, bleeding from your body, and pulling teeth from your mouth, this is all for your own good.
You have to thank me!
The validity period of Zongfan's long-term meal ticket depends on how long the Ming Dynasty's national destiny is!
But Zhu Di had a toothache again: "There is a way, who will do it?"
The old man, who has been a sword-wielding man in the Ming Dynasty for so long, naturally understands a very realistic truth: there are always ways to solve problems, but there are always no people to solve them.
It's not that the old man has no solution to many problems, but he just can't implement the solution.
Just like now, there is a solution to the sect-vassal problem, but who should do it?
If Zhu Di were to do it, all the vassals in the world would point their fingers at him and scold him, including his brothers and nephews...
But if Zhu Gaojie can't do it, and King Qi does this, he will be scolded slowly in the future, and he will not be able to sit comfortably on the throne.
The best way to solve the problem of the vassal is to let the vassal do it. It is best to find a vassal who has the right to speak and status to do it. At the very least, it must be the vassal king. But the vassals are not stupid either. How could they be willing to do such a thing of cutting off flesh from themselves?
The sects and vassals have such a complex system. They are greedy and short-sighted. They hope that the Ming Dynasty will last for eternity so that their system can also last for eternity. At the same time, they are unwilling to pay a penny or take a penny less. The most patriotic It was Zongfan, and it was Zongfan who was most harmful to the Ming Dynasty.
"Isn't there a ready candidate?"
Zhu Gaojiao chuckled and said, "My second brother has status and prestige. If he doesn't do this, who will?"
Zhu Di's eyes lit up: "Are you going to let your second son bear this thunder?"
Zhu Gaojie said righteously: "Dad, look at what you said, I am not asking my brother to take the blame. I am asking him to atone for his sins and give him a chance to redeem himself!"
Zhu Di smiled: "You are so damn wicked."
Having said that, the King of Han is indeed the most suitable candidate.
Although the current identity of the King of Han is very complicated, he is the most suitable candidate. Today, the King of Han is one of the most powerful vassal kings. Even if he commits rebellion, he will still be among the best in the vassal.
What's more, it doesn't matter even if the King of Han resists this thunder and ruins his reputation in the vassal vassal.
The reputation of the King of Han is already bad enough. It doesn't matter how bad it is. What difference can there be between a pile of sheep dung and a pile of cow dung?
"That's it?"
"Okay, it's settled."
"Okay, then you have to cover me from behind, and I will make arrangements."
"You can do it boldly, I will support you."
"No, no, no, it's to support my second brother."
"I understand, I understand."
The father and son looked at each other and smiled, and they had already made up their mind to let the King of Han take the blame.
…
In Zhao Prison, the King of Han held a grass root in his mouth, looked up to the sky and sighed: "This boy, the Fourth, is a loyal man."
After he was escorted back to Jinling City from Shandong, he was taken directly to Zhao Prison without being tried by the Zongren Mansion. After all, with his current status, it would be more embarrassing if he went to the Zongren Mansion. It would be better to stay clean in Zhao Prison. .
Although Prince Han lives in Zhao Prison, Zhao Prison is the territory of Prince Qi's Mansion. Prince Han lived in a luxurious single room, had three dishes and one soup to eat and drink, and was taken care of by his servants. It was like a spring breeze.
The reason why Jin Yiwei treated the King of Han so generously was not only because of his status as a prince, but also because of King Qi's arrangement.
When he thought of this, King Han felt a little guilty: "Oh, the fourth child regards me as his own brother, but I have repeatedly targeted the fourth child before. If I had been more tolerant from the beginning, I would have ended up in this trouble."
When the King of Han lamented Zhu Gaojie's loyalty, Zhu Gaojie had already planned with the old man how to trick the King of Han.
(End of chapter)
