Zhu Yijun's most pressing issue is money.
It was only after he became emperor that he discovered that the reason why his father often shamelessly asked the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds to do this and that was not really because of greed, but because the relationship between the emperor and the Ministry of Revenue was so magical.
The Ministry of Household Affairs wished that all the court's expenses would come from internal funds, and the emperor wished that even the money to buy rouge and gouache for his concubines should go to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The reason seems to be that both parties feel that they are poor while the other party is rich.
However, both parties knew how much money the Ministry of Revenue had in the treasury, but only the emperor knew how much money the internal funds contained, not the Ministry of Revenue.
This created a paradoxical situation. As long as the emperor called out poverty, the Hubu would not believe it; once the Hubu called out poverty, the emperor had to believe it.
It stands to reason that as long as internal funds are disclosed, this problem can be solved, but in fact, at least under the current situation, this is not feasible.
Because the emperor must maintain a certain sense of mystery, an emperor without any sense of mystery will often be unable to control the scene - for example, in the last years of Chongzhen in history, everyone in the court knew that the internal funds were empty, and few court ministers put the emperor in the spotlight. His eyes are filled with anger, because everyone knows that an emperor who has no money can't talk much, can't persuade anyone, and will obey everyone.
In the original history of the Wanli Dynasty, this situation had never happened. Even if Zhu Yijun did not go to court for decades, no minister would dare to resist the decree. One of the very important reasons is that everyone feels that internal funds are abundant, even extremely abundant - there is a mining tax.
So, why is the emperor so powerful if he has internal funds? The truth is actually very simple, because once the emperor has an idea, even if your cabinet disagrees and the Ministry of Revenue does not allocate funds, I can directly use the money from the internal funds to do things. In fact, it even includes dispatching troops to fight.
This situation is equivalent to the fact that the civil servant group may be able to restrict the emperor on the moral level, but it cannot control the emperor at the most critical economic level. The emperor can do whatever he wants, and he can truly do whatever he wants and follow the law.
This is the real core of the operation of power.
The emperors of the Ming Dynasty may not be politically advanced enough to theorize these issues, but it does not mean that they do not understand the key points. Therefore, how much money the emperor has internally has never let the outside court know the details. of.
However, different emperors have different styles. For example, the style of Emperor Chengzu Yongle always made the outer court feel that the internal funds were extremely abundant, so he could ignore the opposition of the outer court and carry out the Five Expeditions in Mobei and move the capital to Yanjing. , another seven voyages to the West... it was a great time.
Since the outer court didn't know how rich the internal funds were, it naturally couldn't afford to be tough, let alone have the dangerous idea of "restricting imperial power."
Since Emperor Longqing had a soft character, he would not imitate Chengzu. Instead, he would focus on crying about poverty. He would talk all day long about how poor he was now, and would buy a mere 20,000 taels of silver jewelry, make a batch of erotic porcelain, and other such trivial things. They all have to be paid by the Ministry of Accounts.
But the Ministry of Revenue is not stupid. They know that the internal funds cannot be really that poor, because Longqing cannot use up all the tax-deductible gold, flowers, silver, etc. from the emperor, not to mention the large imperial estates, numerous imperial shops, etc. income.
In this way, the internal funds were still abundant in the eyes of the outer court. Therefore, although Emperor Longqing had a soft character, as long as Gao Gong was the chief minister with a strong character and stood in the same trench with him, the government would still be stable.
This situation began to change in the eleventh year of Wanli. Zhu Yijun was very sensitive to this, because the Hubu showed signs that something was not right - the Hubu Shangshu began to threaten the emperor with resignations to withdraw his life.
Although the Ministry of Revenue has indeed been in difficulty this year, it has always threatened to resign. However, this is the first time since Jiajing and the Longqing Dynasty that this situation has not occurred.
The main source of the change is that the foreign court began to doubt how much money there was in the internal funds.
There are several factors that contribute to this skeptical mentality, but in the final analysis, there are two people who bear the greatest responsibility: one is Zhu Yijun himself, and the other is Gao Pragmatism.
In order to establish a glorious image as a new monarch, benevolent and wise, Zhu Yijun has been engaged in various tax exemptions and tax reductions in the past two or three years.
Taxes will be reduced or reduced in areas with barren land; taxes will be reduced or reduced in areas affected by disasters; taxes will be reduced or reduced in areas with "unusual signs"; taxes will be reduced or reduced in areas that were originally heavily taxed...
Most of Zhu Yijun's administrative methods cannot be based on high pragmatism. He did play some promoting role here, but his starting point was to "reduce agricultural taxes in risky areas" and instead collect commercial taxes and tariffs from other business-rich areas.
But no matter what, as agricultural taxes decreased, the emperor's gold and silver also decreased. What's even more "suicide" is that Gao Pingshi also persuaded Zhu Yijun to completely destroy the Huangzhuang.
The imperial village was abandoned and replaced by civilian fields, which was equivalent to increasing the income of the household department and reducing the income of the emperor's internal funds. Although the main intention of abolishing Huangzhuang at that time was to force the nobles to quit their fields, the nobles of the capital quickly boarded the ship of the highly pragmatic Beiyang Sea Trade Alliance and found a new way to replenish their blood, even earning a little higher than before. , but the loss of the emperor's internal funds was real.
The household department made a profit, the nobles did not lose, and the emperor was the only one who suffered a loss.
Then there was the impact of the Monan War. At that time, the Ministry of Revenue was unable to suddenly come up with such a large reward, and as a result, Zhu Yijun invested a large amount of money.
With all these things added up, the foreign court certainly doubts how much wealth is left in the internal funds.
The reason why Zhu Yijun was very dissatisfied with Myanmar's provocation this time and directly expressed to Gao Pragmatic that he wanted to teach Myanmar a lesson was also for this reason - he hoped to use this battle to prove that the internal funds were still abundant, and the people in the court Some people should not misjudge the situation.
At the moment, the only "new income" Zhu Yijun can think of is the Yingkou Salt Field, which Gao Yingshi took over and renovated and expanded. However, Gao Yingshi's time to go to Liaodong was already short, and it was impossible for Yingkou Salt Field to provide him with a large sum of money immediately - reconstruction and expansion. No capital required?
So now Zhu Yijun is facing a situation where there is a shortage of money everywhere, and the internal funds are showing signs of being emptied. Who else can take it easy?
Emperor Longqing had something to ask Gao Suqing, and Zhu Yijun had something to ask Gao Qiuzhen, so Gao Jingshi followed the imperial edict and returned to Beijing.
Of course, calling him back to Beijing directly for such a reason would be a bit embarrassing, so the matter of "Chun Wei and the examiner" must be mentioned first. But now, Gao Pragmatic is finally giving advice on "making money", how can Zhu Yijun still remain calm?
Gao Pragmatic's face remained as usual and he said: "This plan may be called borrowing a chicken to lay an egg."
"Borrowing a chicken to lay an egg?" Zhu Yijun was a little confused and asked, "What's the explanation for this?"
But Gao Pragmatic refused to explain directly, but asked: "I wonder what the emperor thinks, if our Ming Dynasty wins this battle, what benefits can we gain?"
"Benefits?" Zhu Yijun was slightly startled and said subconsciously: "What are the benefits of conquering Myanmar? I don't intend to take over the miasmatic land of Myanmar. If I have to talk about benefits, I think it is to make the Yunnan border area peaceful for ten years. .”
Gao Jingshi shook his head and said sternly: "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, but if I start a war in the Ming Dynasty and respond to the war with just this kind of consideration, I'm afraid that no matter how abundant the treasury is, it will be impoverished sooner or later."
Zhu Yijun was not angry, he just frowned and said, "What do you mean?" 135 Chinese
Gao pragmatic raised his eyebrows slightly and said: "In short, try not to fight wars that are useless. If you really have to fight, you must carefully examine the possible benefits contained in them, and then dig them out and use them."
Zhu Yijun didn't understand what he heard, but he didn't ask immediately. Instead, he thought for a while and then asked tentatively: "Just like Li Chengliang beat the Mongolian Tatars, do you still want to grab a handful after the fight?"
Gao Pragmatic almost couldn't help but roll his eyes after hearing this - does this low-level method seem like my style?
"Your Majesty, that's not what I mean... Besides, even if we really have to support war with war, we cannot let our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty go out to openly rob. The impact would be too bad. We can do this to Tumen because Mongolia is our Ming Dynasty. They have been enemies for two hundred years, but the situation in Myanmar is different. Once they plunder and plunder, it is easy to let go and difficult to stop. Whether they rob Myanmar or other Xuanwei Departments, I am afraid Liu Wei and Deng Zilong will not be able to control it. At this time, everyone is preaching to the government about their disloyalty, and Yunnan will be in chaos in the future."
In fact, Gao Pingshi's words were already "measured". In fact, he originally wanted to say that even if Liu Wei and Deng Zilong's troops were "looting under orders," how much of the looted property could really be handed over to your emperor? After thinking too much, it's hard to say how much the two of them can get. After all, although these two dare to fight and can fight, their style of leading troops is not that of Qi Jiguang, and their subordinates will not be so strict.
Liu Wei explained this to Gao Pangshi more than ten years ago: These generals do not always have high-level backers in the imperial court like Qi Jiguang, and they often do not get full pay, unlike Qi Jiguang who often gets increased pay. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to run the army very harshly. Otherwise, the subordinates would be at risk of making a fuss over pay, or at worst, mutiny. That would be no joke.
Zhu Yijun didn't think much about it. Seeing Gao Pragmatic's denial, he asked: "How do we borrow a chicken to lay an egg?"
Gao Pragmatic smiled and said: "The key here is that we first need to make everyone in the court absolutely sure of one thing: in this battle in Yunnan, our Ming Dynasty will not only win, but also achieve a complete victory, and it will not even last too long. .”
Zhu Yijun wondered: "Is there anything special about this?"
In fact, he really never thought that the Ming Dynasty would be defeated. Even though the treasury was in urgent need and Myanmar was "far away", in the eyes of the Ming court, Myanmar was just a big chieftain. Zhu Yijun did not regard Mang Yingli as a person at all. opponent.
But Gao Pragmatic knows that in the original history, the Ming Dynasty actually suffered great losses in the Ming-Burma War that it fought for decades. Although the Ming Dynasty did not suffer many military failures, it eventually lost some of its external The Xuanwei Division was basically completely lost, and the reason for this is worth pondering.
In the final analysis, on the one hand, Ming Dynasty was delayed by the three major conquests and could not spare any time to deal with Myanmar. On the other hand, there was also a problem with Ming Dynasty's national defense thinking.
And Gao Wuchen is now planning to start solving this problem of national defense thinking.
Gao pragmatically said: "I believe that when using troops, you are most afraid of falling into a stalemate. Once you fall into a stalemate, no matter whether you can still win in the end, it is a way of killing three thousand enemies and damaging yourself eight hundred. Unless it is absolutely necessary, otherwise Try not to create a stalemate, it is best to concentrate your efforts and win the battle."
Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "I know this too, just like the Monan War. The reason why I let you go to Liaodong now is to accumulate strength and defeat Tumen quickly to avoid long nights and dreams - but what does this have to do with raising money now? relation?"
Gao pragmatic smiled and said: "If everyone in the imperial court thinks that we can defeat Burma in one battle, then we will have the capital to 'borrow chicken'."
Zhu Yijun still didn't understand and frowned: "How do you say that?"
"Make a wish in advance." Gao pragmatically said: "First let the news out in the DPRK. After defeating Burma this time, we will propose an alliance with Burma - well, it's not an alliance, just ask for compensation, and ask for a large amount of compensation. as punishment for Burma.”
Demanding war reparations is very common in the West, but not so common in the East. The habit in the East is generally to fight until one party is completely defeated.
So Zhu Yijun was a little surprised when he heard it, and suddenly asked out of nowhere: "Let them give out new coins?"
Uh... your statement seems to be similar. The word "Sui coins" is very Chinese. The only difference is that this time we collect Sui coins.
Gao Qingshi coughed dryly and said, "It's somewhat similar."
Unexpectedly, Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "That's not good. It's obviously our business, but once we ask for money, it seems... it seems..."
Gao pragmatism came to the realization, this damn heavenly thinking is really terrible. In this situation, do you still want shame and money? No, you, Zhu Yijun, should have been shameless in asking for money in the original history. Why can't you look away now?
In the original history of Zhu Yijun, someone reported that some wealthy businessmen did not comply with the court's color system and wore red and other colors, hoping that the emperor would abide by the court's laws.
As a result, Zhu Yijun replied with something that almost pissed off all the officials, to the effect that if these people are willing to pay, I can allow them to wear it even if it is bright yellow, let alone red - but it will cost more.
Such an emperor actually still holds the attitude that face is more important than money? It seems that I am indeed guilty. The crime is that the Ming Dynasty's finances are much richer than in history. You fail to understand the embarrassment of a penny that can kill a good man.
But Gao Pragmatic was not afraid that Zhu Yijun would not take the bait. He said, "What if Myanmar is allowed to provide two hundred thousand two-year-old coins, or equivalent supplies, every year for ten or even twenty years?"
Zhu Yijun sat upright all of a sudden, his eyes widened: "Pragmatic, are you kidding me? Can Myanmar get so much money?"
Gao pragmatically said: "Myanmar has been ruling the roost in Tiannan for many years. They should have this kind of wealth. Even if they don't have so much money, they can use other things to offset it. I heard that Myanmar produces beautiful jade, gems, and gold mines. , as for precious woods such as teak, black wood, rosewood, pineapple, etc., there are even more...this is all silver."
When Zhu Yijun heard this, he immediately forgot about the face of the Celestial Empire, and said with piercing eyes: "In this way, Burma is not without merit... However, the time is not right, and the Sui coin must be won after the battle. Yes, but our trouble right now is that we have trouble getting the money to set off the army."
Gao Pragmatic chuckled: "That's why I said just now that everyone in the court must be completely convinced that this battle will be won."
"What's the relationship between the two?" Zhu Yijun never understood the reason.
Gao pragmatically said: "Since everyone thinks they can win, with the kindness of the emperor, we might as well let everyone make a small fortune in this... We can issue some special 'treasure notes', for example, they are called 'Dian War Treasures'" Banknotes, each with a denomination of one tael of silver, were issued in a fixed amount of 200,000 taels in the first issue. After the Yunnan War, the imperial court obtained Burmese annual coins, and recycled these treasure banknotes with one tael or even one tael... …”
"This, this... this is indeed a chicken laying an egg." Zhu Yijun was stunned for a long time, then put his hand on his forehead and said: "I have to think about it carefully, I have to think about it carefully..."
But he didn't "think about it carefully" and suddenly asked nervously: "Pragmatically, do you think anyone will replace these precious banknotes? The precious banknotes are almost like waste paper. I'm worried that no one will want them by then." , then I..."
Well, you want to say that if you can't sell these bonds disguised as treasure banknotes, your face will be as good as the treasure banknotes that are just like waste paper?
Gao Pragmatic smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you can rest assured. The hustle and bustle in the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. In the situation of a must-win battle, it is impossible to sit at home and earn one or two percent for nothing. No one wants it. To take a step back, if it is true that no one wants it, I will tell you the bottom line - I, the Jinghua family, will take care of these 200,000 taels."
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Thanks to book friends "Dou'er852", "1 Optimistic Good Young Man 1", "Sitting at the Door of the Bistro", "Xuan You Ming", and "Carefree K Book" for their monthly support, thank you!
PS: Gao pragmatically wanted to engage in war bonds. He had some hints of it before, but this time he finally found the opportunity, hehe~
