It can be said that Zhang Juzheng delayed the decline and demise of the Ming Empire to a certain extent, but it was a pity that Wanli was too young to pass on his ideas.
The cause of all this was Long Qing's premature death.
Zhu Zaijing didn't know how long he could live if he took good care of himself after time travel, but he would at least live to be 25-30 years old in Wanli!
By the time he dies, Wanli will be old enough to be an emperor.
Thinking of this, Zhu Zaijing couldn't help but sympathize with Zhang Juzheng. The ending of this powerful prime minister in history is disappointing.
Xiao Wanli could not withstand the collective resistance of the civil servants, so he had no choice but to stop all new policies and sent people to raid the Zhang family. The Zhang family was even physically and mentally besieged and starved to death in Zhang's mansion.
Such a Ming Dynasty deserves to perish!
Yu Qian, Wang Yangming, Hai Rui, Zhang Juzheng, Qi Jiguang, so many capable ministers and generals!
Who can Daming deserve?
"Taiyue, I will not let you down!"
Zhu Zaijing couldn't help but said.
Zhang Juzheng looked at the emperor in surprise. What did the emperor mean by such a sudden sentence?
"Let me tell you everything. You also know that most of the cabinet members are old, and the New Deal cannot rely on them for a long time. In my mind, the most important force of the New Deal is you!"
The emperor's words were very sincere, and Zhang Juzheng truly felt the emperor's sincerity.
For him, who has witnessed decades of disharmony between the emperor and his ministers in the Jiajing Dynasty, sincerity is the surefire way!
For Zhang Juzheng, now that he realized that the emperor also had the desire to enrich the country and strengthen the military, his eagerness to take power was no longer so urgent.
But the emperor showed his true feelings, and his minister really didn't know how to repay him.
"My lord, I will fight to the death for His Majesty!"
Zhang Juzheng was so deeply in love that he knelt down and kowtowed heavily to the emperor.
"Get up!" Zhu Zaijing helped him up and patted the dirty corners of his clothes.
Zhang Juzheng was moved to tears by this set.
"By the way, Your Majesty, yesterday the cabinet was quite controversial about the palace expenditure. Mr. Xu Ge still thought that the palace expenditure of 100,000 taels was too little."
Zhu Zaijing was not surprised when he heard this. After all, these people had also deeply imprinted in their hearts the idea that the hardworking people should not suffer the emperor.
"When all the cabinet members are here, tell them that I would rather suffer a little bit than spend money on myself that could be used on the people!"
"100,000 taels is 100,000 taels! There is no room for bargaining. You are in charge of the household department and set the expenses! I have already sent the order to Guanglu Temple!"
"I understand!"
After exchanging sincerity, the monarch and his ministers were honest with each other, and then it was time to discuss business matters.
"Taiyue, I know you have a lot of ideas. I would like to hear it. Now that you are the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, what do you think of the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment.
"Your Majesty, I think there is one thing that is most urgent to delay now!"
"That is, cancel the tax and grain in military fields!"
"Are you talking about paying taxes in military camps?"
"Yes! Your Majesty, I saw it with my own eyes in Jiangling! Many military households and soldiers in the garrison are worse off than ordinary people! Not only do they have to farm to support themselves, but they also have to pay taxes, and military households can only join the army from generation to generation, so The officers became their landlords, and the military households became their slaves!”
Yes, this is also the reason why the guardsmen in the early stage were unable to defeat the Japanese pirates, but the Qi family army who recruited soldiers was able to defeat the Japanese pirates.
Damn, I don’t have enough to eat and I still have to pay taxes. The military fields are occupied by officers and wealthy gentry less and less, so I still have to pay taxes!
Even if the enemy comes, I still have to go forward and fight!
It has to be said that the military household system was the direct reason why the national defense of the Ming Dynasty became increasingly weak!
As long as you are drafted, your household will be considered a military household. If you die in battle, very little compensation will be deducted from you through layers of deductions. The male members of your family will have to fill your place. There are no adult males. Ding Na can be a young one, called a young Ding, but he will still have to serve as a soldier when he grows up.
What? Are there no boys in your household? fine! Don’t you still have relatives?
An army like this is really worthy of the emperor even if it fires two shots!
"I have wanted to change this situation for a long time. How about we start by canceling the tax payment for guardsmen?"
"I think so too, Your Majesty!"
"Let's start with a few health centers and see what the effect is. There will inevitably be new problems. Let's experiment first and don't rush to promote it nationwide!"
In a feudal dynasty with such a large population and such a complicated political system, if any policy is promoted, many new problems will inevitably arise. Through decentralization, it will also change at the local level.
"I agree with your Majesty. If the guardsmen do not have to pay taxes, their burden will be greatly reduced, and there will not be so many people fleeing!"
The phenomenon of desertion was very common in the Ming Dynasty, and there were deserters in almost every guard post.
The reason is very simple. With the above conditions, how many people can persist in serving as soldiers in the garrison?
As for this distorted household registration system, Zhu Zaijing will definitely cancel it, but this involves millions of people, so he must do it slowly.
At this time, cabinet members began to come to check the room one after another.
Everyone was surprised to see the emperor getting up so early, and they were even more surprised because the emperor came here.
After everyone arrived, Zhu Zaijing began to explain to them what he had just discussed with Zhang Juzheng.
The first one to jump out in support was the high arch.
"I think this is a benevolent policy! It reduces the burden on the soldiers. They don't have to pay for food, so they don't have to spend so much energy on farming. They can spend more time training soldiers and have more food to fill their stomachs."
As an emperor, Gao Gong would definitely support whatever he said.
Others also expressed their opinion that this policy is good.
But the king cannot be complacent at this time, thinking that he is invincible and can solve the suffering of millions of people simply by using his brain.
I am really a smart emperor!
Generally, when everyone around you supports something, that is when it is most problematic.
"Master Yang, you know the most about military affairs and have led troops yourself. What do you think?"
Yang Bo, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.
"Replying to Your Majesty, I boldly say that if this matter continues to be promoted, it will not be of any benefit to the military households!"
"Yang Bo!" Xu Jie shouted, "Be careful what you say before you!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the cabinet was shocked.
Damn it, it’s rare for an emperor to be so actively concerned about state affairs, why don’t you throw cold water on it now?
"Everyone, I know you don't want to dampen His Majesty's positive attitude, but from my experience, the biggest reason why military households are so miserable is the officers."
"The abolition of military household taxes will not be implemented at all local levels. We have approved a batch of official seals and issued instructions here, but this news will not reach the ears of grassroots soldiers at all!"
