Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 438, military expenditures are paid from within

Hearing Emperor Hongzhi's question, Liu Jian and Li Dongyang also became thoughtful.

Abolishing the military household system, implementing the compulsory military service system, opening a military academy, and building a strong army are undoubtedly not in the interests of the civilian group.

For the civilian group, they still prefer the current system, and it doesn't matter that the military power is in the hands of the emperor. In fact, nothing else has changed.

Under the current system, it is doomed that it will be difficult for these military generals and honorable groups to rise again, and they will never be able to compete with them, civil servant groups.

But the abolition of the military household system, the implementation of the compulsory military service system, and the establishment of military academies are completely different. Under this new system, let's not talk about whether the military generals of the Ming Dynasty will rise.

According to the theory that the ass decides the head, the civil service group, as vested interests, should instinctively oppose this new system, because the new system will create unstable factors and have an impact on their vested interests.

Moreover, the proposal of opening a military academy made the two of them instinctively feel very scared. The military general Xungui Group has always been unable to play against these civilian groups. It is very important that there are very few educated people in the military general Xungui Group. The boss is not like these civil servants, all of them have come out of the imperial examination.

In addition, schools are used for inheritance. Confucianism can have its status today. After all, it still attaches importance to education and inheritance, and it is endless from generation to generation.

On the other hand, the inheritance of military commanders is generally passed down from father to son, and from family to family. Various military books and the like have not been passed down at all, and are only in the hands of a very small number of people.

Therefore, in many cases, the military generals of the past dynasties are basically Yeluzi, who belong to the kind of generals who have grown up in actual combat, rather than those who have been cultivated by passing on from generation to generation.

Opening a military academy now means that the military academy will be able to inherit and cultivate generals on a large scale in the future, and will naturally and slowly be able to compete with the civilian group. This will definitely seriously damage the interests of the civilian group.

"Your Majesty, I think it is inappropriate to abolish the military household system~"

After pondering for a long time, Liu Jian opened his mouth slowly, and then he added: "The military household system is the foundation of my military system in the Ming Dynasty. Once it is abolished hastily, it will inevitably cause violent fluctuations."

"In addition, if the compulsory military service system is implemented, it is very likely that it will be difficult to recruit enough soldiers. There is a saying among the people that good iron does not make nails, and good men do not serve as soldiers. Under the compulsory military service system, the people are very likely to evade military service. Willing to serve in the military."

"Secondly, under the compulsory military service system, in terms of four years of service, a young and strong labor force may not even be able to survive if the family lacks labor for four years of military service."

"Third, the implementation of the compulsory military service system will inevitably cost more money than the current military household system, and the treasury of our court has always been very empty, and it is impossible to support hundreds of thousands of troops completely out of production."

Liu Jian expressed his opposition. He was also very sharp and saw some problems in the compulsory military service system.

After hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly. This compulsory military service system is indeed very good, but if these few problems are not resolved, it will definitely not be implemented.

"Zhang Mao, what do you say?"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhang Mao. This restructuring plan was proposed by Zhang Mao. Naturally, it is better for Zhang Mao to talk about it.

"The military household system must be abolished. I think Liu Gong should be very aware that the military household system has been corrupted. He is completely unable to shoulder the responsibility of defending his family and the country, and has lost his ability to fight."

"If the military household system is not abolished, no matter how much we change it, our Ming army will always be like this. Even if we win the grassland people this time, they will continue to go south in a few years."

"So we must take advantage of this period of time, the military system, to build a powerful army."

Zhang Mao thought for a while and said slowly.

"As for the problems mentioned by Mr. Liu, we can also find a way to solve them."

"The first problem is that we can't recruit enough soldiers. Because we implement the compulsory military service system, serving as a soldier is a kind of obligation. We recruit soldiers from all over the country. Even if some people evade military service, we can still recruit enough soldiers. soldiers, rigidly stipulate how many soldiers each county and each prefecture must recruit.”

"Of course, the reason why everyone doesn't want to be a soldier is because under the current military system, our military households in Daming are very poor. They don't have enough to eat, don't wear warm clothes, and have no social status. Naturally, everyone doesn't want to be a soldier. soldier."

"But in the Qin Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty implemented the military merit system, and everyone was vying to be a soldier, and even the soldiers had to squeeze their heads."

"The reason for this must be clear to Liu Gong and Li Gong. In the final analysis, it is a matter of interests."

"Implementing the compulsory military service system, you only need to serve in the army for four years, and you don't need to serve in the army for generations, and you don't need to serve in the army for a lifetime. In addition, we can provide appropriate subsidies. For example, for four years in the army, you will be given a total of two years." A subsidy of ten taels of silver."

"In addition, if someone is a soldier, they can get four or five years of tax and corvee for free, and after retiring from the army, they can go to the local yamen to be a fast catcher and so on."

"I think with this set of policies, it is absolutely not impossible to recruit people. For those who serve in the army, their family life can be guaranteed, and they can also have arrangements after they leave the army."

"One last question about expenses."

Zhang Mao had already discussed this compulsory military service system with Liu Jin for a long time beforehand, and discussed all aspects clearly, so when faced with Liu Jian's questions, he responded fluently, knowing how to answer almost without thinking. .

"Implementing the military household system, the imperial court can indeed save a lot of expenses, but by turning a strong army into farmers, the imperial court's expenses will be reduced, but at the same time, the combat power of our Daming army has also been weakened, so that the grassland people repeatedly Go south to loot, wanton burning, killing and looting."

"Implementing the compulsory military service system, there is no doubt that the expenditure will increase sharply. Judging from the current situation of our Daming treasury, it must be difficult to maintain."

When it comes to military expenditure, Zhang Mao did not express any objection, but simply admitted that under the new military system, the military expenditure of the Ming court would increase a lot.

"If you want to build a strong army, you must be willing to spend money on it, and you will be rewarded if you pay."

"So in terms of expenses, I think that your Majesty's internal funds should still be borne."

Having said that, Zhang Mao said helplessly.

The finances of the Ming Dynasty are really very tight, the treasury can starve to death, and it is even more difficult to count on the Ming Dynasty to increase military expenditures. effect.

So after thinking about it, Liu Jin also felt that it was more appropriate for the military expenditure to be borne by Emperor Hongzhi's internal funds.

Emperor Hongzhi is rich now, very rich. If it is considered Zhu Houzhao's property, their father and son are definitely the biggest capitalists in Ming Dynasty and the richest people.

Following Liu Jin's many properties, any one of them is a hen that lays golden eggs. Even the least profitable one is the earliest Xishan Coal Industry, and now it can bring hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to Emperor Hongzhi a year. profit.

As for a series of industries such as the First Bank of Ming Dynasty, Miyun Iron Works, Changlu Salt Plant, Tianjin Cement Plant, Tianjin Port, Tianjin Shipyard, as well as glass factories, textile factories, etc., you can give Hongzhi any one year. The emperor and the prince brought in millions of taels of silver.

In addition, there are fishing fleets and merchant fleets, which are also very profitable, especially the merchant fleets, which can earn millions of taels of silver every time they go to and from Japan and North Korea.

Just from here, we can know how rich the current Emperor Hongzhi and Zhu Houzhao are. Last time, Emperor Hongzhi was able to take out [-] million taels of silver in one go, and at the same time deposited a few hundred in the First Bank of Ming Dynasty. Ten thousand taels of silver, which shows that Emperor Hongzhi is rich.

There is absolutely no problem for Emperor Hongzhi to use internal funds to support the Ming army. Emperor Hongzhi can afford to spend several million taels of silver a year.

Even in the future, as more and more industries are invested, and at the same time expanding abroad, the scope of doing business will become larger and larger, establishing colonies overseas, mining gold mines, and so on.

Emperor Hongzhi's internal income will be even more, and he will earn tens of millions of taels a year, and it will be very easy to spend tens of millions of taels to support the Ming army.

"From within?"

Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jian, and Li Dongyang said in surprise when they heard this.

"Yes, from His Majesty's internal funds."

Zhang Mao nodded solemnly and said.

"This…"

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he was a little unhappy immediately. This internal money is the emperor's small treasury, and it seems a little unreasonable that the army was raised from the emperor's small treasury.

Although the current Emperor Hongzhi is also very rich, raising an army is not a small matter, the expenditure is very huge, and more importantly, it needs to be spent every year, and it is necessary to support one army.

This also means that once the military reform is completed, if all the expenses of the Ming army come from the emperor's internal funds, then the income of Emperor Hongzhi's internal funds must at least be sufficient to maintain the military's expenditures every year.

Although he has made some money now, it is still unknown whether he can continue to make money in the long run. This is an extremely heavy burden, and Emperor Hongzhi dare not agree to it.

"It's okay if it comes from the internal funds. It is said that His Majesty's internal funds are already full of silver."

Li Dongyang smiled and nodded.

Don't you want to change the military system?

Want to abolish the military household system?

Yes, the implementation of the compulsory military service system is very expensive, and the treasury is empty, so it is difficult to support it at all. If you want to change the military system, then you should pay money from your emperor's small coffers.

As long as your emperor is willing to pay this silver, then we have no objection.

Even Li Dongyang was thinking that if the military expenses were really allocated from the emperor's internal funds, then when formulating various expenditures in the future, this figure should be as large as possible.

Military service cannot be done in vain. It is not too much to pay tens of taels of silver for four years of military service. The expenditure alone is an extremely huge number.

A soldier is given [-] taels of silver in four years, and if he raises [-] taels, he will be given [-] taels of silver in four years.

Daming is so big, let alone keep an army of [-] troops, the expenditure alone in the past four years can give you six million taels of silver.

In addition, food expenditure is a big one, weapons and equipment, etc., and you will never give up if you don't give you a few million taels a year.

"This idea is very good, anyway, His Majesty has money."

Even Liu Jian couldn't help but nodded in support after listening.

Only Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhang Mao with a dark face. You can say that the military expenditure comes from internal funds. Aren't you the rhythm of bringing me to death?

It's hard to save some money, you won't be reconciled if you don't toss all my money.

"Your Majesty, regarding this point, I have actually thought it through."

Zhang Mao smiled and said confidently.

"Oh?"

"tell me the story."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhang Mao with a dark face, but he really wanted to hear what Zhang Mao could say.

The emperor didn't take any tricks to cheat the emperor.

"Your Majesty, it stands to reason that the imperial treasury should be responsible for the expenditure of the army, but the treasury is empty, and it has no way to support the normal expenditure of a powerful army."

"Unless we don't want to change the existing military system and continue the military household system, otherwise, if we want to reform and build a strong army, we must either levy heavy taxes on the court to increase the revenue of the treasury, or find a way Find a way to support the expenditure of the army."

Zhang Mao first pointed out very directly that it is very difficult to do something when the national treasury is empty, especially when it comes to such a big event as the reform of the military system. Possibly the expense of maintaining a strong army.

The Ming court is now less than five million taels of silver a year (capital development, more taxes, Changlu Salt Farm pays two million a year), even if it is counted as food, cloth, silk, etc. Category.

These are only enough to maintain the daily expenses of the court. There is not much silver, food, etc. used in the army. Naturally, there is no way to build a strong army.

Hearing Zhang Mao's words, Emperor Hongzhi also nodded. Is it realistic for the court to levy heavy taxes?

It is not realistic at all. The taxes of ordinary people are already relatively heavy. If heavy taxes continue to be imposed, the people will not be able to survive.

As for the levy of commercial tax, there is no need to even think about it.

Someone proposed to levy a commercial tax before, but it was drowned out by countless voices of opposition in an instant. Levying a commercial tax is a hundred times, a thousand times more difficult than taking back military power.

So if Emperor Hongzhi wants to change the military system and build a strong army, what should he do if there is no way to increase the treasury revenue?
Of course, the money was paid out of Emperor Hongzhi's own internal funds.

After all, this world still belongs to your old Zhu family, so don't make it so clear.

What's more, the military power has been taken back into the hands of the emperor. Shouldn't the military expenditure also be paid from your internal funds?

After listening to Zhang Mao's words, Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly. He had experienced the feeling of being bullied without money.

In the past, when he wanted to do something, Zhou Jing said that without money, Emperor Hongzhi was discouraged in an instant. He wanted to rely on the treasury to reform the military system. Just dreaming, it is simply unrealistic.

If you want to reform the military system and build a strong army, you must have enough money. Since the treasury is not enough, you must use your own money.

It's just that if it really comes from internal funds, it means that one's own internal funds must have sufficient income in the future, which means that the current industries must make money and buy more. Industry is the only way to make more money.

This also means that Emperor Hongzhi is absolutely inseparable from these industries under his command. Once there is a problem with these industries, he will have no way to earn enough money to maintain military expenditures.

Of course, this is also a way Liu Jin thought of, a way to tie the emperor firmly to the capitalist chariot, once this one is done.

No matter who becomes the emperor, he must support the development of capitalism, otherwise he will not be able to get enough money to maintain the Ming army.

Similarly, relying on the current market of Daming alone, it cannot meet the needs of capital, and must expand abroad, whether it is foreign trade or foreign colonization. wealth.

And once the capital embarks on the road of high-speed development, Liu Jin believes that Daming will inevitably dominate the entire earth.

"Your Majesty, there is a saying that goes well, it's a matter of being loyal to the emperor~"

"This military expenditure comes from internal funds. Everyone knows that this money belongs to Your Majesty, and you are the one who is raising the thousands of troops of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, this army of the Ming Dynasty is even more loyal to Your Majesty."

Zhang Mao thought for a while and continued to add.

On this point, it was said that Emperor Hongzhi had gone into his heart, and it was the same when he thought about it carefully.

If you want people to be loyal to you, you must give them enough benefits, even if you are the emperor, you are the same.

If you want the army to be centered on you, it is only natural to invest this money in it.

"So that's the case. This must be the idea of ​​this brat Liu Jin. Although Zhang Mao is a little clever, he definitely can't come up with such a clever plan."

Then Emperor Hongzhi seemed to think of something very quickly, and laughed immediately.

This military power was finally taken back, and Emperor Hongzhi was actually afraid of being snatched back by the civil servants again, but if the military expenditure was paid from within, he would support these troops himself.

Once something happens in the future, if the civilian group wants to take back the military power, the military expenditure alone will be enough to crush the national treasury.

After thinking about this point clearly, Emperor Hongzhi immediately understood that these things must not have been thought up by Zhang Mao.

　Two in one, this can be regarded as tying the emperor and capital together. The emperor is the biggest capitalist, so he will naturally be full of desire for external expansion.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)