Later, Zhang Rui finally figured it out.
In the final analysis, the Manchus did not treat China as their own country.
Although the Manchus had already taken over the Central Plains, they had no idea. After all, it is almost impossible to suppress the huge Han people with a small number of Manchus, and there is a Mongolian Yuan in front of them, which can be said to be a lesson from the past.
Therefore, they are naturally exploiting the people living on this land. How could they go to such troublesome construction?
In fact, the old Buddha behind also understood this, so he dared to say it shamelessly: measure China's material resources and gain the happiness of the country. Come on like this.
However, although the Manchus and Qing Dynasties were not good at building a country, they exerted their talents to the extreme in controlling the people.
This control mainly comes from the economic aspects of life.
At that time, the daily wage of ordinary peasant day laborers (also known as temporary workers) was about ten cents.
In the 21st year of Qianlong's reign, Lu Kuiyuan from Tanghe County, Henan Province worked as a long-term laborer for the local Zheng Tianlu family. The salary was 2,500 cash per year, and he earned an average of 200 cash per month. During the Qianlong period, one tael of silver was equal to one thousand copper coins, which meant that an ordinary peasant day laborer could only earn less than three taels of silver a year. The income of ordinary people who work as long-term workers for landlords is relatively high, about four taels of silver a year. ①
Ordinary landowners (poor farmers) can earn about 20 to 25 taels of silver from farming a year; ordinary tenant farmers (farmers who make a living by renting land) can earn about 8 to 9 taels of silver from farming a year.
However, an ordinary person's basic expenses need at least five taels of silver a year. If there are four people in the family, they will have to spend at least twenty taels of silver a year.
A middle peasant family owns quite a lot of land, and they can earn about thirty-five taels of silver a year. However, the minimum annual expenses of a middle peasant family are about thirty-eight taels of silver.
In other words, they have to work hard for a whole year and still have to borrow about three taels of silver to survive, and there is no production surplus at all.
And their situation will last until there are no natural or man-made disasters. If a famine occurs, many peasant families will go bankrupt and sell their sons and daughters, eat tree bark, and dig Guanyin soil. ②
A seemingly simple three taels of silver is enough to make the people below work hard and work to death for basic life. Naturally, they had no energy to resist the Manchu rule.
It is undeniable that the Manchu Qing Dynasty was indeed very good at enslaving the people, but the whole country they produced were just weak, selfish, indifferent, and insensitive slaves.
If the people of a country lack self-esteem and creativity, how can it develop?
It is said that when you have enough food and clothing, you know honor and disgrace.
Therefore, if you want to change the people who were enslaved by the Manchus, you must let them have enough food, clothing, and a place to live, give them freedom, and give them honor.
And the most basic of these is to make them rich. Let them make money and save money.
As the saying goes: If the king regards his ministers as his hands and feet, then his ministers will regard him as his heart and soul; if his ministers regard his ministers as dogs and horses, then his ministers will regard him as his countrymen; if his ministers regard his ministers as earth and mustard, then his ministers will regard him as a bandit.
Only use practical actions to make them feel that you are sincerely doing good for them, so that they can have food to eat, clothing to wear, a spacious house to live in, and the ability to speak freely. Only then will they truly accept you, support you, and protect you.
In fact, in the areas occupied by the bandit-suppressing army, farmers no longer need to pay other taxes except agricultural taxes.
As for those exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes for unknown purposes, the bandit-suppressing army is not allowed to collect them. Anyone who dares to collect money randomly can report it to the local procuratorate. Officials will naturally come down to deal with it at that time.
Even the corvee, which had not changed for thousands of years, was abolished by Zhang Rui. Nowadays, most of the people transporting food to the army are auxiliary soldiers. As for the civilian men, they are all hired with money and food.
It is precisely in this way that the people occupied by the bandit suppression army felt that happiness came so suddenly, and they all supported the arrival of the bandit suppression army. At the same time, it provides unconditional support to the work carried out by the anti-bandit army.
The people who benefited all shouted that the world must be ruled by the King of Han. Only when the King of Han became emperor would he treat the Han people in the world as his subjects, instead of just treating the Han people as slaves who could be exploited like the Manchu Qing Dynasty did.
Even in the area occupied by the bandit suppression army, if anyone dared to speak ill of Zhang Rui in private and was heard, others would immediately spontaneously attack him.
Zhang Rui didn't know what the people thought.
The reason why Zhang Rui ordered that a family with an annual income of more than fifty taels does not need to pay taxes is because he felt that he did not want to be embarrassed.
Because in England during the same period, an ordinary farmer should be able to have less than twenty or thirty taels left every year, except for necessary expenses. And if the hard-working people under his rule don't have a penny left after excluding the basic necessities of life, doesn't that mean that he has failed too much?
Of course, this is not just an element of grudge, but more importantly, Zhang Rui hopes to change the fate of the people who are exploited.
It is precisely for this reason that in the area occupied by Zhang Rui, people often joke: If you can't even pay taxes, why do you think your family is rich?
Even if someone marries a daughter, it must first be seen whether his family can produce a tax stamp issued by the government to his family.
Although the bandit-suppressing army occupied the area not long ago, the people are constantly changing without knowing it.
Before, they were more confused and helpless about the future, but now they are looking forward to the future more and more.
Some people among the people also asked, what if the bandit suppression army was defeated by the Qing army? Can we still go back to live under the rule of the Manchus?
In this regard, someone answered this way: As long as the King of Han is there, the bandit-suppressing army will not be defeated. If anyone dares to confront the King of Han, I will risk my life to do it to him. As long as the bandit suppression army needs me, I will always be ready to go to the battlefield with a knife and a gun.
Although I don’t know if what this person said is sincere. But it also reflects from the side that in areas occupied by the bandit suppression army, it is difficult for the people to adapt to being slaves again after they have tasted what it is like to be a human being.
"King of Han, what's wrong?" Looking at Zhang Rui who suddenly became silent, Chen Deyun thought that his words had stimulated him and couldn't help asking worriedly.
Although Zhang Rui's actions were often incomprehensible, in Chen Deyun's mind, the King of Han truly treated his old brothers well. It is precisely because of this that Chen Deyun respects Zhang Rui from the bottom of his heart.
Note ①: Records from "General History of China".
②: The information comes from "China and the World in the Eighteenth Century·Agriculture Volume".
