The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After Emperor Jiajing launched a series of personnel adjustments, all six ministers and ministers' positions were occupied. At this point, the official transfer seemed to have come to an end. The successful ones celebrated while the frustrated ones silently licked their wounds.

On this day, Yin Shizhen had something to do and asked for leave from the palace. Wei Guangde was responsible for handling all matters in the palace, while Zhang Juzheng went to the Ministry of Household Affairs to ask for the palace's monthly salary for the past two months.

Yes, the imperial court is out of money again. Not only are the salaries of hundreds of officials delayed, but the money from Prince Yu's palace is also owed.

The cause of all this is naturally the sequelae of King Jing's vassal ceremony.

In order to send King Jing away as soon as possible, the money from the Ministry of Finance was spent like water, and all the money was allocated as long as it did not violate the rules.

"Shandai, are you here?"

In fact, there weren't many things going on in the palace, most of which were internal affairs, and Li Fang was taking care of them, so Wei Guangde took some time off to read.

However, when he heard someone speaking, Wei Guangde looked up and saw Prince Yu walking into the room. He quickly stood up and saluted, "Greetings to Your Highness."

"Where's your uncle?"

King Yu went into the room and took a look. Only Wei Guangde was in the room and Zhang Juzheng was not seen, so he asked.

"Brother Uncle has gone to the Ministry of Household Affairs."

Wei Guangde replied with a wry smile.

"Hey, it's also difficult for Gao Yao."

King Yu naturally knew what all this was about, and he could only make a mental note to Gao Yao.

However, he still had to ask for the money from the palace, otherwise he would have to ask for the accumulated wealth privately.

Now King Yu attaches great importance to his small treasury. After all, he has gone through a period of hardship and hardship and already knows the importance of money.

As he spoke, King Yu found a chair and sat down, and motioned for Wei Guangde to sit down as well.

"I wonder if Your Highness has anything to do with you."

Wei Guangde asked after sitting down.

After the waiter brought the tea, King Yu picked up the tea cup, gently moved the tea leaves floating on the water with the tea lid and said: "I listened to your lecture a few days ago, but I still don't understand some questions. I'll come over and ask if I have nothing to do today. ask."

"Your Highness, it's okay to say so."

Wei Guangde hurriedly answered.

"When the Ming Dynasty was founded, our martial arts flourished. Why is it that now, the border troops are unable to defeat the Tatars? What is the reason?"

Wei Guangde's lesson to King Yu before was based on the Northern Expeditions of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Chengzu Zhu Di. At that time, the Mongols were beaten so hard that they could only flee far away. But from then until now, the Ming army has no advantage in combat power.

King Yu naturally has to consider these things. When he takes the throne in the future, if there is another Gengxu Revolution, he doesn't want to lose that person.

Now is the time to figure out the reasons, so that we can make some adjustments in the future to avoid being harassed by Tatar soldiers in the capital and making it difficult for him to sleep and eat well.

"It's just the two of us here, out of your mouth and into my ears."

King Yu looked at the door, said something, and then said to Li Fang who followed behind him: "Go and guard outside, don't allow anyone to come near."

Wei Guangde felt a little bitter in his heart. Some things were really hard to explain. After all, the reason for the decline in the combat effectiveness of the border troops was, to put it bluntly, the lack of adequate payment.

At the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were some people who were greedy for ink, but they were very few. Unlike now, soldiers can get three achievements and burn high incense.

When you work as a soldier and work hard, the money you get is money for selling your life. If you don't have money, whoever sells your life will naturally reduce your combat effectiveness.

In the Wei system, it is said that soldiers are not only guarding the frontier, but also guarding their own homes. However, the military camps that were divided in the early Ming Dynasty have long been divided up by the powerful and military officers. To put it bluntly, it is said that soldiers cannot support their families and defend their hometown. The slogans can no longer be shouted.

It is strange that such a Ming army can have fighting power.

However, King Yu had already reached this point. Seeing that Li Fang had gone out and was guarding the door, Wei Guangde hesitated but had to say something.

King Yu's visit today was obviously not a whim. Yesterday, Yin Shizhen asked for leave and arranged for Zhang Juzheng to go to the Ministry of Finance to collect money. It seems that King Yu is not confused either.

In hesitation, Wei Guangde could only weigh the pros and cons and then said: "The decline in combat power is an indisputable fact. The real reason is that the money is not enough."

Wei Guangde already had something to say and planned to talk about the situation and seek some benefits for himself.

"From the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the present, salaries, wages and silver have remained unchanged. Except for physical objects, they are banknotes. Nowadays, most of them are in color and replenished with banknotes. But when it comes to distributing silver, the losses of officials and soldiers are not huge, so they can be replaced by issuing treasure banknotes."

"Uh-huh."

King Yu nodded slightly when he heard this, and hummed twice to express his understanding.

Understanding is understanding. If you don't want to make a big difference, you probably won't change anything.

After all, it was designated as an ancestral system by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it needs to be changed.

In fact, if it is beneficial to officials, no one will probably make an issue with the ancestral system, but if it is beneficial to officials, it will inevitably harm the interests of the court.

To put it bluntly, Zhese was in trouble because the court had no money.

Wei Guangde understood, and so did King Yu. He still had treasure money in his monthly salary, and he had plenty of it, but he couldn't use it.

As for Wei Guangde, it's not like he hasn't thought about treasure banknotes, but the key point is that he only knows a little about these things. If he starts to use banknotes to replace gold and silver, he is afraid that he will accidentally destroy the Ming Dynasty.

Just kidding, exchanging paper for gold and silver in the hands of the gentry might not force them to rebel.

But after Wei Guangde finished speaking, King Yu also understood what he meant. He wanted to increase his salary, which he didn't dare to think about. Nodding would be money.

"Who was the general who transferred to Guizhou last time?"

King Yu suddenly said again.

"Yu Dayou."

Wei Guangde replied hurriedly.

"Yu Dayou, but he can win the battle by bringing people out, and the weak will defeat the strong."

Wei Guangde said that soldiers were given little money, so they could not win the war. Yu Dayou's soldiers were no different from other frontier troops, but he could win the war. Isn't this a bit contradictory?

"At this stage, Datong soldiers are probably the most capable of fighting."

Wei Guangde did not deny it, but he had to explain it, otherwise King Yu would easily go astray.

"When the Datong Army went out to fight, although the military pay was the same as other frontier troops in the past, most of the captures in Bansheng were distributed to the soldiers of the Pass. These people worked hard to get the equivalent of several years of military pay, in full. "

Having said this, Wei Guangde thought about it and said: "The subsequent battle against the Anda troops will be easier. If you lose, all your previous efforts will be wasted. If you win, you will gain both fame and fortune. Naturally, the soldiers are willing to fight hard."

The seizure in Bansheng City was very large, but the amount turned over was limited, all because of Li Wenjin.

Well, if you share the benefits, without the approval of the local civil servants, how can the commander-in-chief and the generals dare to distribute them directly like that time.

As a result, Li Wenjin was promoted to Governor-General Xuan for his meritorious service, and the Datong Army received money from top to bottom. It can be said that everyone was happy, but no one reported it to the capital.

There are benefits to the local civil and military affairs. Who would find it uncomfortable? That would be in a border town.

The officials in the capital were naturally aware of the twists and turns, but at this time they chose to turn a blind eye. After all, they had won, and there was no need to snatch food. They had plenty of ways to make money.

King Yu fell into silence, this is really difficult to handle.

Soldiers who want to fight hard must be given money, but what the court lacks most is money.

Wei Guangde only talked about money, and naturally there were reasons. First, he hoped that King Yu would ascend the throne in the future and see if his salary could be increased. He didn't care, but it didn't mean that everyone else was like this. There were too many poor officials in the capital.

If this wish is fulfilled in the future and the news spreads, I will be in a big favor.

Of course, his purpose is more than that, but he cannot be too eager. It depends on the timing. It is best for King Yu to initiate the conversation.

"Are all the strongest soldiers in the world like this from ancient times to the present?"

King Yu frowned and asked. He was a little confused. This is not in line with Confucianism. Everything is money.

The emperor used Confucianism as a cover to get the people of the world to believe in it, but the current situation is that the people do not believe in propriety, justice, integrity, shame, loyalty and filial piety. What should we do?

"I'm not sure, but I think it's probably the case."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Let's not talk about the distant ones, let's talk about the Yue Family Army in the previous dynasty. The Jin Kingdom said, 'It is easy to shake a mountain, but it is difficult to shake the Yue Family Army.' But how did the Yue Family Army come about with its fighting strength? It was not just piled up with money. It was generous military rewards. "

"Why is Emperor Song so rich?"

Hearing Wei Guangde talking about Yue Jiajun, King Yu suddenly thought of something and asked hurriedly.

When Wei Guangde heard King Yu's question, he hesitated a little and then said: "Your Highness, according to the documents I checked from the previous dynasty, the Song Dynasty valued business, and their huge financial revenue mainly came from commercial taxes, which accounted for about 70% of the total annual income.

Before Jingkang, the annual income of the Song Dynasty was about 70 million guan, and after that, the annual income exceeded 10 million guan, all supported by commercial taxes."

Wei Guangde's family is not in business. Although he has good relations with Jiujiang merchants, he does not think that his actions are damaging the jobs of those merchants.

At this time, Western countries have begun to encourage the development of industry and commerce on a large scale and levy taxes, but they have not seen business shrink due to the impact.

In this case, as long as the commercial tax is not heavy, it will not have an impact on business, and the commercial tax is collected, the court can use this to provide policy support for business.

The reason why the fiscal revenue in the Southern Song Dynasty was higher than that in the Northern Song Dynasty was because it encouraged commerce, especially without restricting the development of maritime commerce. A large number of goods were sold to the West. At that time, Quanzhou and Guangzhou were the main trading ports.

After hearing Wei Guangde report the figure of 70 million guan, King Yu's eyes began to shine, and he straightened up when he heard the Southern Song Dynasty's annual income of 10,000 guan.

What is the annual income of the Ming Dynasty? If you add it all up, it is 30 million taels or 30 million yuan. What was the situation of the Song Dynasty after Jingkang? Of course King Yu knew very well. He lost half of his country and settled in a small corner of the country. How could this happen? Huge income.

"How is my day?"

King Yu quickly calmed down after his excitement. He knew that commercial taxes were also collected in the Ming Dynasty, but they were obviously not comparable to those in the Song Dynasty.

Wan Wan Guan corresponds to a business tax of 70 million Guan, which is more than the entire annual income of the Ming Dynasty today, but the population and land of the Ming Dynasty far exceeded that of the Song Dynasty at that time.

"At the beginning of our dynasty, Taizu set a tax of thirty to one. However, at that time, we had just experienced the war, and everything was in ruins. The people were still struggling, and the business was declining, so even if we set a high tax, we could not collect the tax.

Moreover, although Taizu did not attach great importance to commercial taxes, he still levied them through the local tax department and Hebo Station, and levied taxes on the circulating goods through monopoly transactions in Yaxing. This shows that in fact, he did not give up on commercial taxes, but at that time In the current environment, we really cannot collect much tax money. "

"It makes sense. I know about Yaxing and Hebosuo."

Prince Yu nodded.

"The tax collection is low now, it should not be because of low collection. In recent years, the Ming Dynasty has prospered its business, which can be seen by looking at the ships passing by on the Grand Canal. Every year, the customs tax is 200,000 taels."

After hesitating for a moment, Wei Guangde continued: "The reason why there are not many taxes is mainly because most of the taxes collected are not transported to the imperial court, but to the treasuries of various vassal princes."

"Um?"

When he heard that the confiscated money had entered the feudal prince's palace, King Yu's face flushed immediately, and he was obviously a little angry.

When Wei Guangde saw this, he immediately explained: "These were rewards issued by the emperors of previous generations."

At this point, Wei Guangde felt that it would be better to explain it clearly, so he simply used Prince Xing's Mansion to talk about the matter, so he continued: "In the sixth year of Hongzhi, Emperor Xiaozong Hongzhi issued an edict to give Prince Xing An's banknotes to the river bank in Luzhou. "

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, King Yu's expression eased a little. It turned out that his family also made such money back then, so it was hard to say anything.

Who is King Xing that Wei Guangde is talking about?

Not even his grandfather.

Just when Wei Guangde and King Yu were talking about the taxation of the Song Dynasty in the palace, in the Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan, two cabinet ministers and the ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household gathered together, but the atmosphere was obviously not cheerful.

"The internal treasury is short of money. I want to get new money from Yunnan for use. Why is it so difficult?"

Emperor Jiajing was in a bad mood at the moment. The court had no money, and his inner treasury also had no money. It was also because he knew that the court was poor, so he wanted to use Yunnan's new money. Unexpectedly, he was given money by Gao Yao, the minister of household affairs. It's strange that I'm in a good mood after being stopped.

"Your Majesty, Yunnan's new money has already been used for a long time. It is to prepare the capital's border salary money instead of hiding it. If your Majesty takes it, the officials in the capital can tolerate it, but what about the military pay in the border town?"

Gao Yao hurriedly stood up and answered.

"If you squeeze together and work together, you will always find a way."

Emperor Jiajing replied, and then said forcefully: "Two capitals will be issued with 20,000 taels of silver and handed over to the Ministry of Industry for casting."

"His Majesty."

Gao Yao said anxiously, but before he could continue, Yuan Wei, the Minister of Rites, stood up and said: "Shang Gao, the internal treasury is short of money, so the Ministry of Revenue should first ensure the expenditure of the internal treasury."

Gao Yao saw Yuan Wei interjecting at this time. He was the Minister of Rites and the money was not under his control. When the time comes, all the ministries asking for salary will come to him but not him. What does it mean to jump out and make sarcastic remarks at this time?

Submit a certificate of honor to the emperor?

They immediately started arguing with Yuan Wei, while Yan Song and Xu Jie stood aside and watched coldly.

Yuan Wei, of course they would not deny him face, and it was hard to say anything to Gao Yao. After all, he held the money bag.

A lucky minister, a powerful minister, the emperor did not name him, and they did not bother to interrupt.

Yuan Wei and Gao Yao argued for a long time in Yongshou Palace over the use of money for the inner treasury, but in the end Emperor Jiajing did not let go and insisted on sending 20,000 taels of silver to the palace for use.

In the past, when encountering such a thing, it was Yan Song who came forward to make peace, but now this role has been taken by Yuan Wei.

Prince Yu's Mansion.

"That is to say, if Ming Dynasty also opens the ports of Quanzhou and Guangzhou, it will also receive two million yuan of silver a year?"

At this time, Wei Guangde had already told King Yu about the approximate customs revenue of the Southern Song Dynasty that he had found.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, commodity exports were levied on the basis of ten taxes and one tax. According to literature, the annual customs revenue was about two million guan.

"If the silver method at that time was interchangeable with today's, it would be more than one million taels."

Wei Guangde replied, "But the imperial court has merchants, so the income will be much less, and there are also people who engage in plunder and fraud."