However, it is easy to ask your disciples to sacrifice, but compensation afterwards is inevitable. Otherwise, if things go on like this in the long run, no matter how valuable your status is, you will not get any benefits at all, so why bother.
To be honest, Zhu Biao doesn't have much more to offer to the Jiangnan clan. It's not that he is stingy about his official position. In fact, they have reached a very sensitive point. If they add more favors, then these state capitals belong to the Ming Dynasty. It's still theirs, but I can't tell for sure.
"You can draft a memorial. After you have finished it, send it to my palace for review. After I have it printed, it will be sent to the imperial court together."
The prefect of Hangzhou responded immediately, with a sense of relief in his tone. It was almost summer, and the seedlings had already been planted. The loss of pulling out the seedlings at this time was no joke.
At this level, the harvest of hundreds or thousands of acres of land is not worth mentioning, but the sum total of these families in Jiangnan, large and small, is terrifying, not to mention that they are not cheap food, they are all valuable crops.
And this doesn't just count the losses in the fields. If you dare to plant on such a large scale, you must already have a market, and the sales scattered in various places will be forced to reduce production or even stop.
Even though it is for His Highness's sake that everyone should bear it together, this loss will inevitably be a strain on our muscles and bones. If possible, it would be better not to move.
Especially since he was not Chen Tong's political envoy, he acted as the master of his own family on the outside, but he was not qualified to represent the entire family in this way. Afterwards, he would inevitably be regarded by various families as a flattering villain who benefited himself at the expense of others.
It was difficult to argue at that time, but he couldn't help but say this to His Highness. As the highest-status representative currently accompanying His Highness, his first priority was to maintain this hard-won relationship between king and minister.
In a word, he said that he might be squeezed out to vent his grievances, but the worst case scenario would be to take a job in the northern state capital. When the limelight is over, he would be promoted and compensated in a reasonable way.
But if he didn't say it, he would be a dishonest servant, and no major family would tolerate him. Not to mention his official position, even his own family might be kicked out of the family.
The Holy Spirit is so fierce today. If His Highness the Crown Prince does not take care of him, he will be uprooted sooner or later. No matter how much business he does, he will step down with iron hooves and just make wedding clothes for others.
After dismissing this person, Zhu Biao fell silent for a while, and Jiangyin Marquis on the side kept silent. He actually understood people's livelihood, especially the matter of farmland reclamation, but now that he had taken over the ocean-going affairs, it was hard to say much.
What's more, he also knows that although the prince is young, he has already begun to visit the ministers, listen to the ministers' announcements, and practice state affairs. In the past two years, he has overseen the state many times, and his understanding of court affairs is far better than him. .
After waiting for a while, Zhu Biao's brows relaxed, and he told the Marquis of Jiangyin: "We must pay attention to those crops. We can't just rely on those merchants. If we encounter them, whether they are taken cleverly or plundered, they must be brought back to me. Then It is a good thing to benefit the people and strengthen the country.”
Wu Liang's face straightened up and he stood up to accept the promise without saying much, but Zhu Biao knew that he had kept it in mind and would definitely try his best to do it. He is a capable man of action.
"What's going on with the imperial army's garrison?"
Wu Liang thought for a while and replied: "The sergeants are divided into three parts to defend the city and seven parts to farm crops. There are also examples of twenty-eight, forty-six, one-nine, and half, etc., all of which are based on the poor soil and buffered areas. Sergeants are generally allocated land by the court, ranging from a hundred acres to thirty or forty acres. They are also given cattle, seeds and farm tools. They do not have to pay taxes in the first few years of farming..."
Zhu Biao nodded and said: "It's quite different from relocation."
Wu Liang sat back and nodded: "Regardless of how much we have saved, as long as there is no war, at least there will be no need for the imperial court to collect food and supplies on a large scale."
"I remember that the per-mu tax for official land in the south of the Yangtze River is five liters, three to five scoops, for private land, two liters for civilian land, eight liters, five scoops for re-rented land, and one dou and two liters for unofficial land."
"Your Highness remembers it correctly. Your Majesty cares about people's livelihood, and the tax rate on private land is extremely low. People in Jiangnan now have a lot of surplus grain storage, otherwise they would not dare to switch to cotton."
The prince's questions were scattered, but fortunately he knew these things. If the general Wu Xun next to him was really speechless, the monarch and his ministers talked for a while, and Zhu Biao became silent again.
In any case, the Jiangnan aristocratic family has clearly gained momentum again. With Chen Youzong at the center and talented people from various local families taking up official posts, a huge interest group has already established a firm foothold.
In fact, if it was just like this, Zhu Biao wouldn't care too much. It would be easy to destroy it if he really wanted to destroy it. But it was different as soon as Haimao opened. They quickly expanded with the right time, place and people.
This was also something Zhu Biao had neglected in the past. He finally realized this when the Hangzhou prefect said that he could forcibly adjust the crops at all costs.
They can do this now just to make him happy. In the future, in order to protect themselves or to seek more benefits, can they suddenly reduce food production regardless of the overall situation of the court?
The court can be without money, but it must not be without food. When the life is in the hands of others, even if there is a knife in the hand, they will not dare to let it go easily.
At any time, cash crops are more valuable than food crops, and this is especially true for overseas trade. After the smooth sea trade, the status of merchants will definitely increase. If you have money, you will have a general trend.
Land annexation must be curbed, and the big landlord class must also be suppressed. Although we are now in an era of vast land and sparsely populated areas, the imperial court has abolished the Ding tax and is encouraging marriage. Especially when corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes and other products are introduced, the population growth will inevitably be extremely high. quick.
A progressive tax system may be a good idea. The more land you own, the heavier the tax you will have to pay. I will discuss it with the Ministry of Household Affairs after returning to Beijing, and with the guidance of the imperial power, it should be able to suppress it.
It is not impossible to plunder, but this method obviously treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. The wanton infringement of private property is also a clear sign of social immaturity.
His own father was the best at using this method, but the result was a huge flat body dominated by small farmers all over the country, commanded by a superior emperor.
Although there is equality in the short term, there is a lack of economic organization and structure, and social and economic efficiency is sacrificed for the pursuit of social stability. In the long run, this society is destined to stagnate, and egalitarianism cannot be maintained for a long time.
But it shouldn’t last too long. If we still focus only on the local area, then land annexation is inevitable. After all, the land in the country is limited.
But once sea trade opens, the land will be unlimited compared to the population of the Ming Dynasty, and there are too many ways to make more money than enclosure. I am afraid that by then, even if they are allowed to enclosure for farming, they will feel that the return is too low and the cycle is too long.
……………
In today's morning court, as usual, the emperor was not greeted respectfully by his ministers and then retreated separately. Moreover, the emperor sat on the dragon chair with a cold look on his face. Watching them leave, a layer of cold sweat broke out on everyone's back.
After watching everyone leave, Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his eyes. Although the beautifully carved dragon chair accommodated his exhausted body on horseback, it obviously did not relax his spirit.
He became an orphan, a so-called widow, and the only one in this vast territory. But if he closed his eyes, besides him, the majority of black crows would also make him feel uncomfortable.
Today he mentioned the matter of dividing the princes again. As expected, the censors at the censorship station seemed to be crazy, and the civil servants also expressed their opinions one after another. If only that was all.
The martial arts warriors who never got involved in these matters also ended up today, and they were particularly fierce. They all used the guise of thinking about His Highness the Crown Prince. However, each of them has improved and is no longer the reckless man in the past.
But the more this happened, the more it proved the necessity of this policy. Leaning on the dragon chair and looking at the empty hall, recalling the ferocious faces of the ministers just now, Zhu Yuanzhang whispered in his mouth
"People have fields to work on, live and work in peace and contentment, men work on the silkworms and women work on silkworms, there is no idleness, the rich suppress the strong, everyone is in peace, the rich and the poor help each other, work lightly and earn little, the rich and the people, harvest crops at the right time, complete Pay taxes.”
This was his hope for the country he founded.
…………
