"Your Majesty, the way to be a king lies in serving the country and the people. If you want this way to flourish, you should also use strategies."
"The first step in strategy is to keep a low profile and bide your time. Therefore, your Majesty does not need to think about what to do at this time. Instead, you only need to do one thing, which is to comply with Qi Jiguang's request and send southern troops to Beijing to train troops and actually protect the army!"
Zhang Juzheng raised his hands and answered.
"Troop training."
Zhu Yijun nodded, recited to himself, and said, "This reminds me of the nine-character motto Zhu Sheng once dedicated to Taizu."
Then, Zhu Yijun asked: "So we just ignore all these material concerns about officials and gentry paying food and serving as errands together?"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Zhang Juzheng replied, and because he still had the responsibility of teaching the emperor, and also hoped that the emperor would be able to govern personally in the future and know how to control people's hearts, he patiently continued to explain, saying:
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, if you use skills to govern a country, you should mainly rely on conspiracy. This material argument about the officials and gentry being paid as one and serving as errands is not so much a matter that some of the ruling ministers were unwilling to change the system and leaked it. It is better to say that the minister This intention was deliberately leaked, so that the people of the world would start to discuss it, so that in the future, when the officials and gentry are actually on duty, the sudden increase in levies will make it difficult for the gentry and gentry in the world to bear it for a while."
"Especially for the ordinary gentry below the middle level who do not have extensive farmland, they will be unable to bear it and be excited when they first know the court's intention. However, as the discussion becomes more and more in-depth, they will realize that they are When they are powerless, most of them will regain their senses and know that it is hard to disobey the king's orders. When the system of officials and gentry paying taxes and serving as errands is really implemented, they will not fiercely resist the new policies of the imperial court."
"As for those who are still unwilling to accept the officials and gentry being paid as one and the same, I'm afraid they will only be the high-ranking officials and gentry with vast fertile land, and they can only show their authority."
Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this: "No wonder they have to train their troops first, and no wonder the Qi Qing family suddenly took the initiative to invite their own soldiers to become their own soldiers without avoiding any suspicion."
Then, Zhu Yijun asked: "Sir, aren't you worried that those who still oppose the unified payment of grain by the government and the gentry will take some measures to stop the new policy?"
"Your Majesty, the court only needs to have strong troops and horses, and there is no need to worry that they will strike first;"
“For the first move often leads to control;”
"In other words, if the court takes action first, it will be easy to be controlled by it. It is better to let it go beyond the rules first and then control it!"
"In this way, they are controlled by the imperial court; even if they directly gather troops to rebel, it will be more convenient for the imperial court to mobilize troops against them than if they do nothing now."
Zhang Juzheng continued to answer at this time and said: "Just as His Majesty did not show any intolerance just now because of Zhu Qianxian's impeachment of Jin Yiwei, at this time, His Majesty should not let people know his attitude quickly, but just wait for the material arguments to gradually subside, and gradually When someone violates the rules, it is only appropriate to give him a thunder blow."
"Your Majesty has a reason for using troops, and the people of the world will not dare to disobey him!"
Zhu Yijun nodded and said with a smile: "Then just train troops! My husband and I have the same ideas."
As Zhu Yijun spoke, he looked at Zhang Jing and ordered: "The factory guards are still just checking the situation of internal and external ministers and workers, as well as the situation of important officials and gentry families, but there is no need to take any action first, and no one will be taken away for the time being. Everything will be done first." Just report it to me."
"According to the order!"
Zhang Jing responded.
Three days later, on the west side of Qianqing Palace, Zhengshi Hall.
Zhu Yijun met with the ruling ministers here to clear the land and increase the number of troops.
As for the officials and gentry working together to pay the grain and serve as errands, after Zhang Juzheng expressed his attitude to the ruling ministers that he would do so, he did not directly submit a memorial to the emperor to ask for his approval and issue an edict.
And Zhu Yijun did not take the initiative to issue an edict.
Although there was a lot of quarrel about this matter outside, at the level of the ruling center, it was as if this matter had never happened.
Just like a stone falling into water, it makes no movement except for a few ripples.
"Your Majesty, from the fifth year of Wanli to the beginning of the eighth year of Wanli, the whole country will be purged;"
"After approval by the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Inner Court, and the Ministry of Works, plus the number of clearings made by the two previous pilot projects, the total number of new clearings made by the two direct administrations of the North and South and the 13th Chief Secretary in this dynasty totaled 1,547,05 Eighteen hectares of cultivated land; the other nine hectares of cultivated land totaled 281,484 hectares; the total newly added cultivated land nationwide was 1,828,542 hectares. There are 5,182,155 hectares of cultivated land in the country, and now it has increased by more than 35%."
"The grain stored in the capital's warehouses has reached more than 31,647,000 taels, which can support the army of the capital for eight years; the silver stored in Taipu Temple has reached more than 4 million taels, and the silver stored in Taicang has reached six More than a million taels."
"Inner transport warehouse, carrying warehouse, supply warehouse, A-shaped warehouse, D-shaped warehouse, C-shaped warehouse, Neiguanjian, Shangshanjian, Wine and Vinegar Noodles Bureau, Siyuan Bureau, Baochao Division, Xixin Division, Guanglu Temple, Jing The total annual income of the government offices of Rujing Three Princes' Mansion, Taichang Temple, Imperial College, Sacrifice, Jingtong Ercang, Jimi and other towns, Lumicang, Gelbian Town, Taicang Bank and other yamen is 2120 plus discounted silver. There are more than ten thousand taels."
"These are all the rules that your Majesty established for passing the examination, and decided on the punishments, clearing out accumulated wealth, collecting border wages, reducing corvee services, dredging rivers and canals, and banning horseback stations. You ordered the Confucian officials to re-edit the "Huidian", and also ordered the ministers to When the land and grain are cleared in the world, Gehao seizes it in secret, and Su Xiaohu pays for the contribution, so that all the old officials follow the law, the people do not add taxes, and the losses are given to Taicang, there will be eight years of accumulation. From the beginning of the country to the present , No one has such abundant savings.”
According to the Zhengshitang system established by Zhu Yijun, all ministers who are ordered to enter the Zhengshitang to discuss major affairs are called ministers who can participate in the Zhengshitang and can enter the Zhengshitang to discuss major affairs.
Basically, cabinet ministers, ministers of the six ministries, and officials of the Privy Council and the Imperial Procuratorate have this qualification. Those who have this qualification will basically be given the official title of Sangu or Sangong.
Zhang Xueyan was also one of the ministers participating in the political affairs, and on the day when the political affairs hall summarized the issue of clearing the land and decided to increase the number of troops, he first reported to Zhu Yijun about the issue of clearing the land.
Zhu Yijun also listened carefully to Zhang Xueyan's report.
He remembered that in the history of the Ming Dynasty in the sixth year of Wanli, Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Household Affairs, together with the Inner Court and the Ministry of Industry, made statistics. At that time, the annual income in real terms and silver was more than 18 million taels.
There are more now, naturally because the father-in-law has become more thorough in this life.
The so-called true color and silver discount refers to silver plus other physical objects. In order to facilitate statistics, various types of wheat, grains, silk, etc. are counted as silver.
There will naturally be moisture in it.
Basically, civil servants did not want the emperor to see too good-looking financial figures.
Publicly speaking, it was because they did not want the emperor to waste internal and state funds, especially state funds. In order to make the emperor frugal, civil servants would discount silver at a lower price.
Of course, privately speaking, it is also convenient for officials in charge of money and food to line their own pockets. For example, if the cotton cloth delivered is obviously worth one hundred taels, the silver can be converted into eighty taels or even fifty taels. This can allow a large amount of national money to be sold into cash. into his own pocket.
Therefore, the statistical figures are often less than the true value collected by officials.
But how much less depends on the management situation.
It can only be said that in the early years of Wanli, the civil servants may have considered the former more, and did not want the emperor to stop being frugal because of the improvement in finances.
Historically, Zhang Juzheng discouraged Wanli's extravagance and waste on the grounds that Taicang's annual income in Wanli six years was less than Wanli's five years, and did not mention that the savings were still increasing in Wanli six years. He also asked Wanli and his royal family to Be more frugal.
Zhu Yijun also knew about this situation, but he had no intention of exposing it.
Because this kind of behavior is a unified behavior of the entire bureaucratic group, unless he puts aside the civil servants and bureaucracy and does the statistics himself, he can only allow this kind of water to exist.
Even if Zhu Yijun asked the eunuch to do it, the eunuch would take the opportunity to do this.
For example, in history, Wanli asked the eunuchs to collect mining taxes. In fact, he and the eunuchs split the tax revenue 40-60.
Sixty percent belong to eunuchs.
And he, the emperor, could only get 40%.
Wanli in history can only be recognized.
Back to the topic.
Even if the civil servants no longer want the financial figures to look too good, because the New Deal has indeed been implemented for eight years, and the clearing of land has indeed taken three years to be successfully completed, so no matter how hard they try, they cannot hide the dazzling results on the books.
After all, they really can't do anything too ugly, because Zhu Yijun will check the accounts at any time.
Zhu Yijun personally checked the transfer department's accounts in previous years, just like Qianlong.
He also found out that the price of folded silk in the household transfer department was too low and there was an obvious difference of 60,000 taels. Therefore, he dismissed Zuo Shilang of the Nanjing household department, who was in charge of this item, and made Yan Qing, governor of Sichuan, take over the post.
Zhu Yijun was still very satisfied after hearing the final figure of Qingzhang's land. He nodded and looked at the Privy Council envoy Fang Fengshi: "The Privy Council has agreed on the specific number of new troops for the pro-military guards and the transfer of soldiers from the south to the pro-military guards. number?"
(End of chapter)
