Why did the emperor rebel?

In the Wenhua Palace, the voice of the emperor fell, and Yu Qian was also a little silent.

He had known for a long time that the emperor had great ambitions, but he never thought that the emperor would set his mind on the sea ban this time.

"Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"

After pondering for a moment, Yu Qian finally spoke.

However, this sentence made Zhu Qiyu very surprised.

Is this... the Yu Qian he knew?

After going out of Beijing, I really changed my temper...

It is true that when he mentioned this matter to Yu Qian, he wanted to entrust Yu Qian with an errand. However, for such a big matter as opening the sea ban, if it is changed from the usual, I am afraid that Yu Qian will never give up if he does not chase him and make it clear.

Now, he didn't ask any more questions, which was beyond Zhu Qiyu's expectation.

However, although Yu Qian didn't ask, there are still some things to say, after a little thought, Zhu Qiyu said.

"The Japanese pirates in Zhangzhou are in trouble. I plan to send [-] troops to quell the chaos. This battle is different from the past. It needs to be done quickly. Moreover, the Japanese pirates in Zhangzhou must be completely eradicated. Therefore, I need a minister who is capable enough to be an admiral. military affairs."

Under the army mobilization system of the Ming Dynasty, when a large army goes out for an expedition, it is usually led by the Duke, Marquis, and Bo. In addition, there will be civil servants of sufficient rank to supervise military affairs, and eunuchs are also required to follow the army. Guarantee the imperial court's control over the army.

Yu Qian, the former minister of the Ministry of War, is naturally very clear about this point. The job of the admiral is not difficult to do. After all, there is still a commander in front. The admirals and ministers restrict each other, and whoever is more capable can substantially control the direction of the battle.

but……

"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates have been suffering for a long time. Now that the drought in Jiangxi has just subsided, and there is no snow in Gyeonggi and Nanzhili this winter, it may still be a poor harvest next year. Why is Your Majesty mobilizing troops on this matter?"

These words obviously carry the meaning of opposition, but the way of speaking is undoubtedly very different from the previous Yu Qian.

It made Zhu Qiyu a little uncomfortable, but Yu Shaobao, who can speak well, is still very attractive.

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu opened his mouth and said.

"It is precisely because the harvest next year may not be good, that's why I want to mobilize troops at this time!"

Since he intends to hand over this errand to Yu Qian, then what needs to be explained must be clearly explained.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought up the ban on the sea.

Hearing this, Yu Qian frowned, but he didn't rush to speak, but waited for Zhu Qiyu's next words.

So Zhu Qiyu continued.

"Jiangxi's drought has involved several states, and the government allocated about 40 taels of relief money. As Mr. said, there will be no snow in Gyeonggi and South Zhili this winter, and there will probably be a poor harvest next year. According to the Ministry of Household Affairs It is estimated that the state capital affected this time is wider than the drought in Jiangxi, besides..."

Speaking of this, Zhu Qiyu's eyebrows flashed a trace of deep worry, but he did not continue to speak.

Because I can't say what's next.

…Besides, he also knows that after the New Year’s Eve, there will be endless rain and snow in Fengyang and other places, and it will rain for several months, causing frostbite to all the wheat seedlings. , the drought in Huguang and other places, after May, dozens of states such as Nanzhili and Shandong will usher in another three consecutive months of torrential rain. It was a severe cold and snowstorm, which lasted for several months...

Compared with these, this year's drought is nothing more than a trivial matter.

What's even more frightening is that this is not the year with the most disasters, and the real test is yet to come...

Shaking his head, Zhu Qiyu took back the emotions in his heart and said.

"It is reasonable to say that at this time, we should stockpile food, prepare for the famine, and tide over the difficulties together. However, sir, you should know that open source is the fundamental strategy."

"Before the civil engineering campaign, the imperial treasury was completely empty. However, in just two years, although the national power has not recovered to its peak, it can still support many major events. .”

While talking, Zhu Qiyu picked up an account book from his hand and said to Yu Qian.

"This is the account book of the Huangdian before the grassland civil unrest. In the past six months or so alone, the profits of the Huangdian, plus the tax money paid to the treasury, can support the entire year's military expenditure on the border last year. "

"In addition, Mr. rectified the fertile land confiscated by the army, and in the process, seized the silver taels obtained by the border generals and corrupt officials. In the past two years, including the repair of the border wall, all expenditures of the frontier army have been involved. , there is no need to withdraw it separately, and even a part of it can be kept in the treasury.”

In fact, sometimes, governing the country is difficult or easy to say.

At least for Zhu Qiyu, since he has been on the throne for so long, one of his major goals is to save the finances of the Ming Dynasty that have gradually collapsed.

It comes down to specific means, including but not limited to developing mutual markets, rectifying military settlements, building water canals, and opening Huangzhuang...

Yes, Huangzhuang is also one of the means to save finances!

"I just read the memorandum handed over by my husband. After these 42 Huangzhuang are built, a part of the annual salary of the vassal king can be cut off. In this way, a large sum of money needs to be paid by the court. .”

Hearing what the emperor said, Yu Qian suddenly reacted.

After supervising Huangzhuang's affairs in the local area for so long, he naturally studied the Huangzhuang regulations that were promulgated at the beginning.

Among them, there is a very inconspicuous clause, that is, part of the rent of the Huangzhuang will be used as the salary of the vassal king.

According to the original regulations, the annual harvest of Huangzhuang will be roughly divided into three parts. The first part is pure rent, which is used to pay for the cattle, grain, agricultural equipment and houses purchased by the vassal in Huangzhuang. , The second part is the tax and food to be paid to the government. The two together account for more than [-]% of the field harvest, and the remaining small part is obtained by the tenants.

The problem lies in the second part. According to the statute, part of the second part of the tax and grain will be given to the vassal for the annual royal salary.

At the beginning, Yu Qian only felt that the emperor's move was to reduce the pressure on the court, although he also realized that the Huangzhuang system actually tied tenants and vassals together to resist natural disasters.

However, hearing what the Son of Heaven said at this moment, he found that it was very possible that it was not that simple. If there were no accidents, the Son of Heaven should... have already been plotting against the kings.

So when you don't do many things, even if you know the possible situation, you won't have a deep feeling. This is the reason.

Yu Qian had long understood the role of Huangzhuang, but it was only at this time that he realized how useful Huangzhuang was.

If there is no Huangzhuang, then the royal salary of these vassal kings must be allocated by the court, even in a disaster year.

However, now that there is Huangzhuang, the ancestral salary of these vassal kings comes from the land tax of Huangzhuang. If it is said that there will be a disaster in the next year, then the imperial court’s land tax will not be collected, so how can we talk about appropriating it from the land tax? Zonglu?

The emperor's move was not only to save the court a sum of money, but more importantly, to use the power of the vassal.

If this method is not used, then forcibly cutting off the salaries of the kings will definitely cause a backlash.

However, Huangzhuang is different. From the perspective of profit and loss, under the Huangzhuang system, once the harvest fails, the Zonglu that the kings can get will be greatly reduced.

But firstly, this is just a risk, there will never be disasters every year (really?), secondly, even if there are successive years of natural disasters, as long as the kings are allowed to choose, Yu Qian believes that they will still choose Huangzhuang.

Not for anything else, because for the vassal kings, they are not short of money. The imperial court gives the royal salary every year, the rewards during the festivals, the fixed grant of land and rent, plus the offerings of the local gentry, and the search income and All the other gray incomes are added up, as long as it is not those extravagant vassal kings, the luxury and good food are more than enough.

However, people's desires are always endless, and the life of prosperity and wealth is inherent to the vassal kings, but they don't think it is precious.

What they really need is power. To put it bluntly, even a seventh-rank magistrate can do much more and have more freedom than a vassal king.

If it is said that the imperial court is willing to open the channel for the vassals to participate in politics, let alone pay them salaries every year, let them pay their own salaries, and some vassals are willing.

Huangzhuang, for them, is such an existence. Although the management of Huangzhuang is in the charge of eunuchs, and it is the officials of the royal family who participate in it on behalf of the vassal king, but after all, all aspects are involved in it. In a sense, the vassal king still gained a certain amount of power.

Among other things, because Huangzhuang encloses a large area of ​​land, it is impossible to be in the city, and it is basically on the outskirts of the city. In this way, the vassal king took a tour of Huangzhuang on the grounds of inspecting Huangzhuang, leaving most of the day , whether it is hunting out of the city or enjoying an outing, there are many cumbersome procedures, and it can be said that I have tasted the long-lost freedom.

This point, Yu Qian felt particularly deeply during the six months he was out of Beijing. In fact, in most cases, when he was on business in the vassal land, when he encountered any difficulties, these vassal kings had a very good attitude towards him. Be friendly, as if the previous unhappiness never happened at all.

The reason is that they don't want the matter of Huangzhuang to be messed up and not guaranteed. They also hope that with the precedent of Huangzhuang, the emperor will be able to further relax the restrictions on vassal kings in the future.

Therefore, even if it is to pay a little bit of Zonglu, these vassal kings are definitely not willing to let go...

Although in Yu Qian's view, there are risks in relaxing the restrictions on vassal kings in this way, it is also a good way to allow the court to survive the disaster year safely.

However, what does this have to do with the suppression of Japanese pirates?
After pondering for a moment, Yu Qian opened his mouth and said.

"Your Majesty can understand what your Majesty said. However, the current situation in the grassland is chaotic, and the mutual market is intermittent. Presumably, the imperial court's revenue has also decreased a lot. What His Majesty just said is open source. Is it possible that it has something to do with the Japanese pirates in Zhangzhou?"

"Not bad!"

Zhu Qiyu nodded and said.

"Sir, you just mentioned that the ships going out to sea carried a lot of silk, tea, porcelain and other things. This is true. This is because, on behalf of Uncle Wang, I enlisted a lot of businessmen in the local area. In the name of exploring the sea chart, Go to sea for business!"

Although this matter has been mentioned just now, when Zhu Qiyu really said that this matter was instigated by him and Dai Wang behind his back, Yu Qian's face was still a little ugly.

It can be seen that this is located in Shaobao, and at the moment he is trying very hard to suppress his desire to speak out.

However, it is conceivable that if Zhu Qiyu does not have a reasonable explanation for this matter in the future, even if Yu Qian changes, he will probably return to the former South Wall Yu Shaobao.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu said.

"I know that this is not in line with the ancestral system, but it is indeed a helpless move."

"Sir, you know that at least half of these caravans are dismantled imperial troops, and all the supplies on board come from the Imperial Store!"

Hearing this, and remembering what the emperor said just now about open source, Yu Qian vaguely understood something, and asked.

"Your Majesty means that you intend to trade at sea?"

"But, even if you want to go to sea, why does Your Majesty allow private merchants to break the sea ban?"

Daming's sea ban policy is actually quite special. To put it bluntly, it is forbidden for private people to go to sea, but it is allowed for officials to go to sea.

The most typical example is Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas. This eunuch of the Three Treasures made seven voyages to the Western Seas, but no one came forward to mention the sea ban. This is the reason.

The reason why the sea ban policy is often interpreted as a ban on sea trade is that the imperial court does not go to sea for trade, and only private merchants, even Zheng He's voyages, are just for the sake of national prestige , so gradually, the two were equated.

However, the emergence of the Huangdian institution broke this perception.

First of all, there is no doubt that the imperial store belongs to the emperor's private property. Then, the next question is whether the emperor can represent the imperial court. If not... er, no, if he can, then the imperial store will go to sea for trade. It should be regarded as the official behavior of the court.

Since it is an official action, it is naturally not restricted by the ban on the people not going to sea. At most, it is an old tune of competing with the people.

That's why Yu Qian didn't understand why the emperor took so much trouble, first to get the king to Zhangzhou mansion, and then to use the name of verifying the chart to let private merchant ships fish in troubled waters...

So, Zhu Qiyu sighed, took out another memorial, handed it down, and said.

"Sir, you might as well look at this first!"

Yu Qian frowned, took the memorial handed over by the servant, opened it, and immediately raised his eyebrows.

The content of this memorandum is actually very simple. It records the situation of collusion between the gentry and rich merchants in several prefectures around Zhangzhou Prefecture, and the pirates along the coast...