prosperous age

Chapter 1130 1221 New War Mode

Zhang Juzheng was deeply moved by Wei Guangde's words "all taxes and labor service are paid from the land", probably because this was how people of that era understood wealth.

Although Wei Guangde has always been promoting the idea that doing business can make money, under the influence of the Four Books and Five Classics, "where there is land, there is wealth" has always been regarded as a golden rule by literati.

Of course, Zhang Juzheng also had his own views on wealth, which can actually be seen from his eight-part essay "The Great Way to Make Money" written in his early years.

Yes, in fact, one of the important purposes of Zhang Juzheng's reform was to collect money for the court. He believed that wealth was accumulated by increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

He knew that Wei Guangde advocated business, and he also knew that business could make one rich, but as the prime minister, he could not agree with it.

"If you work hard to get the basics right, your income will be unlimited. If you spend frugally, your expenditure will be limited."

This is the way to get rich that he recognizes, and it is definitely not relying on doing business, buying low and selling high to make a profit from the difference.

"Before, because of the performance evaluation system, I heard that some officials tortured the people and forced them to pay money to complete their annual tax tasks in order to complete their annual tax tasks."

Zhang Juzheng began to speak in a low voice. In fact, although Zhang Juzheng's reforms have been praised more than criticized in history, there is actually quite a bit of controversy.

The root cause is that whether it was surveying the land or implementing the Single Whip Law, it did not essentially reduce the tax burden on the people, but only slowed down the way of paying taxes and at the same time provided a policy of redeeming corvee labor.

Before this, these were all done privately by clerks without the support of state policies and belonged to a gray area.

But in reality, even though this loophole was opened, the people still could not afford the money, and when they were transferred, they had no choice but to leave their homes and serve in the army.

As for the people who lost their fortunes, it was largely because of labor service and the poll tax. After all, the tax came from the land, and families with a small amount of land might be exploited, but if they had no land and no poll tax, the government naturally could not levy heavy taxes on the common people.

It can be said that the implementation of Wei Guangde's method of dividing the tax rate by the amount of land, as long as the local governments stopped levying taxes on landless people, and all the regular and miscellaneous taxes were collected from the land, although land annexation could not be stopped, the pressure could be transferred to the landlords.

For Wei Guangde, the development of capital economy requires a large number of workers. If they have no burden and just want to make a living, then either working in the fields or working in the city seems to be a good choice.

As long as policies to support workshops are formulated later, people who have lost their land can go to the city to work and become workers, thus maintaining local stability.

Even if some people say that the landlords will force the government's taxes and labor service on the farmers and increase their rent.

In fact, this is not important. They just need to know that in addition to farming, they can also go to the city to work and earn money to support their families.

By then, it might not be that farmers cannot rent land for farming, but that landlords cannot find tenants to rent land to.

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Wei Guangde was also deeply touched and said seriously: "In order to complete the performance evaluation, local officials desperately squeezed the people to pay taxes. I have also heard about this.

I also asked about the specific details. In fact, most of them were the poll tax for landless people. It was difficult for them to even have food, so where would they get the money to pay the poll tax?

If the land-based tax system is to be implemented, the imperial court must explicitly prohibit the collection of taxes from the people, including miscellaneous taxes, and all taxes must be collected from the land.

The court's rules have been distorted when they are implemented at the grassroots level, and we can only try our best to improve them so that there are no loopholes and the people suffer in vain."

Zhang Juzheng deeply agreed with this.

In fact, land annexation is a major trend that cannot be stopped by humans. This has been the case throughout the dynasties.

Even if there is legislation, those below can use ultra-long-term leases to modify the land attributes in disguise.

Because of the era in which the Ming Dynasty lived and the influence of technological development, it was impossible for it to develop from a small peasant economy to a commodity economy. As for the higher-level capitalist economy, the basic conditions were difficult to achieve, and the most it could do was to transition to a manor economy.

The manor economy also requires that the land be annexed and then dominated by the landlords.

However, as cabinet ministers of the Ming Dynasty, their first consideration was to solve the country's financial problems while taking into account local stability.

The greatest achievement of Zhang Juzheng's reform was actually reversing the long-term fiscal deficit that began in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Ming government to have a certain surplus during this period.

Just as Zhang Juzheng himself said, "Even if there is a major event in the country, the reserves of the inner and outer treasuries will be used without exhaustion."

Therefore, financial issues are actually the first priority for cabinet ministers to consider.

As long as the court can receive more money, they will continue to do it even if it infringes on the interests of ordinary people.

Of course, the path chosen by Zhang Juzheng was not good for the gentry class either, so it is understandable that his policy came to an end after his death. It seemed that he was not popular with anyone, either from top to bottom.

However, Wei Guangde's proposal to measure the land and then implement the Single Whip System by incorporating all labor service into it is a good move that can substantially reduce the burden on the people.

At the very least, for most people, what they earn is theirs and they no longer need to pay taxes to the government.

The two men began to have substantive discussions on the distribution of land tax, which was actually mainly to consider possible countermeasures at the local level after the implementation of this law.

Yes, they need to consider everything carefully, and naturally they cannot ignore the local conditions. As the saying goes, there are countermeasures to every policy, and this has been the case since ancient times.

Good policies, if not carefully considered, may change their nature when implemented at the local level and turn into cruel and murderous policies.

This is also what they want to eliminate.

"Ok?"

As they were talking, Wei Guangde suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure swaying at the door, and he subconsciously turned his head to look.

"Lubu, is there something wrong?"

The man outside the door was his clerk and should not have come here.

Since he was here, there must be something wrong, so Wei Guangde stopped discussing with Zhang Juzheng and asked directly.

"Master Prime Minister, sir, there is an urgent message from the Ministry of War, so I have no choice but to come here."

Lu Bu entered the room, saluted Zhang Juzheng first, and then spoke to Wei Guangde.

"Bring it to me and see."

Wei Guangde guessed that it was most likely a battle report from the southwest.

He took the document from Lu Bu, opened it and read it quickly.

Two days ago, he already knew that Qi Jimei had led his troops to a "defeat", but it was not that tragic, after all, no soldiers were lost, and they just retreated when they saw the situation was not good.

After that, we won several games in a row. Needless to say, winning is normal, and losing is abnormal.

As for another defeat against the Burmese elephant soldiers, Li Chengliang admitted that his enemy was negligent and his generals failed to command the battle, resulting in the loss of not only hundreds of soldiers but also a lot of firearms.

What he saw this time was also a defeat, but the more Wei Guangde looked, the deeper his frown deepened.

Because this time was obviously different from the previous encounter with elephant soldiers, the Ming army was not well prepared and instead encountered a surprise attack with barbarians' firearms.

The losses were not great, with only about a hundred casualties and some firearms lost, but not much. However, it greatly touched Wei Guangde.

Previously, Wei Guangde asked the Ministry of Industry to develop the Red Cannon, which was actually mainly for use in naval battles in the South China Sea. Although the Portuguese cannon was good, it had obvious flaws.

He believed that the use of Portuguese cannons in land battles was better than red cannons because the cannons had a faster firing speed.

Even if there are disadvantages such as insufficient range and power, they can be overcome. After all, there seems to be no rivals around Ming Dynasty that can match it.

Therefore, it was Wei Guangde who decided that the red cannon should be supplied to the navy first after it was cast.

But this Southwest War Report taught Wei Guangde a lesson, letting him know why the Portuguese cannon was replaced by the Red Cannon.

Wei Guangde thought he had a clearer understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the Portuguese cannon and the Red Cannon, and understood them better than many people of that era.

The Portuguese cannon, with its unique breech-loading smoothbore design, is unique. From the perspective of later generations, it is actually a weapon that is very close to modern artillery.

The barrel, belly and sub-gun, a trinity, together compose his legend.

When firing, gunpowder and projectiles are prepared in the sub-gun and then placed in the belly of the gun. The front sight and rear sight on the barrel are like his eyes. After aiming at the target, he lights the ignition port and the projectile whizzes out.

The barrel of the gun is thick and the rudder at the rear is flexible, allowing the barrel to turn at will, demonstrating endless power.

It has an amazing firing rate, and the design of separating the missile and the gun makes it as fast as lightning on the battlefield. The heavy version of the "Invincible General" can fire three shots in a row in just 20 seconds. The heat dissipation is fast, and the rear-loading design ensures continuous firepower and reduces the risk of spontaneous combustion.

The gunpowder capacity is stable and safe, the sub-guns share the chamber pressure, and the barrel life is longer.

After the Ming Dynasty obtained the Portuguese cannon, it not only imitated it, but also dared to innovate, giving birth to a variety of artillery such as naval guns, city defense guns, chariot guns, field guns, as well as infantry guns, cavalry guns and other firearms. There are many types, with a total of tens of thousands.

By the end of the Jiajing period, the Portuguese cannon had become a powerful assistant to the Ming army. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the ratio of cold and hot weapons of the Ming army was optimized to three to one because of this weapon.

Although the Portuguese cannon is good, it has inherent flaws.

Due to technical limitations, the airtightness between the sub-gun and the barrel was poor, allowing gunpowder gases to leak out and limiting its range, making it difficult to exert its power when facing a charge by enemy cavalry.

This also provided an opportunity for the Red Cannon, which came from behind, to stand out and become the new overlord.

Unlike the Portuguese cannon, the Red Cannon is a muzzle-loading smoothbore copper cannon with double the range, reaching up to several thousand meters.

With its huge power, slender barrel, excellent accuracy and thick wall, the Red Cannon also demonstrated its excellent performance in actual combat and quickly won the praise of Ming court officials.

Of course, the firing rate of the Red Cannon is always a hurdle that cannot be avoided. For the Ming army, which used a large number of Portuguese cannons, this cannon was actually considered a bit useless at that time. It was tasteless to use and a pity to throw it away.

In fact, if the navy did not need heavy artillery, the Ministry of War would not have looked down upon this type of firearm.

At least before his actual combat ability is proven, the Ministry of Industry will not choose to cast it in large quantities.

However, in this battle on the banks of the Lu River in the southwest, the Red Cannon taught the Ming army a lesson with its range, allowing them to experience for the first time the absolute crushing power of the Red Cannon over the Portuguese cannon on the battlefield.

“Shandai, but something happened in the southwest?”

Wei Guangde was speechless for a long time after reading the document, and Zhang Juzheng began to ask.

"Brother, let's take a look."

Wei Guangde handed the document in his hand to Zhang Juzheng and asked him to take a look.

Wei Guangde supported the casting of the Red Cannon. It seemed that this matter once again demonstrated his knowledge of military affairs, but he could not be complacent.

Because of the actual combat results, it also impacted his thinking.

Artillery range is always the top priority in any era.

At this time, Wei Guangde kept reminding himself in his heart.

Cannons are known as the gods of war and can destroy everything on the battlefield. But even in the era of later generations when planes are flying everywhere and missiles can carry out intercontinental strikes, cannons are still surviving tenaciously and working hard to increase their range.

From the previous dozen kilometers to twenty or thirty kilometers, and then to more than fifty kilometers with bottom exhaust bombs, it has not been eliminated by the times.

Wei Guangde also attached importance to cannons, but he paid more attention to firing rate rather than range.

Now, the Portuguese have taught Lord Wei a lesson.

"It was Shandai who first proposed that the Ministry of Works cast this Red Cannon, right?
Although our craftsmen didn’t succeed, they learned the art of making cannons from trench mirrors.”

Zhang Juzheng had already read the battle report and knew that the Ming army had suffered another defeat, but he still flattered Wei Guangde.

“At first, people only thought that this type of cannon was beneficial for naval warfare, but ignored its power in land warfare. Therefore, the red cannons that were cast were first supplied to the South China Sea Navy, and not much was given to the land navy.

Now it seems that the Artillery Department needs to step up production, and each guard post needs to be equipped with some."

When the idea of ​​the Red Cannon was first proposed, the Ministry of Works named it the General Cannon.

However, because it required fine casting of wrought iron, it was not successful until it was discovered in Haojing that the Portuguese were able to cast this type of artillery, and then the Ming court learned the casting method from them.

Therefore, the General Cannon also had another name in the Ming court, which was the "Red Cannon", which also showed that the technology actually came from the West.

"Let them produce more red cannons and reduce the production of Portuguese cannons?"

Zhang Juzheng asked.

Since the Red Cannon showed its enormous power, Zhang Juzheng actually thought that there seemed no need to continue producing the Portuguese cannon.

However, he also knew that Wei Guangde seemed to have always liked the Portuguese cannon, so he said this.

"Well, that's how it should be."

Sure enough, Wei Guangde nodded immediately and said: "Red cannons should be produced in large quantities and equipped to all units. The Portuguese cannons have a fast firing rate and are also suitable for land warfare, so they cannot be lacking.

If there had not been foreigners infiltrating the Burmese army, there would have been no need for this bow.

I will also have the Ministry of War send this battle report to all the garrisons in various places so that the generals and officers below will all know about it. This will prevent them from thinking that they can do whatever they want just because the court has given them firearms.

When I realized that things are different now, the barbarians came from the West and brought so many new things, which greatly changed the war mode.

In the past, they mainly used firearms and bows and arrows, but now they use falconets and bird guns, and in the future they may have to add long-range fire suppression from red cannons."

Wei Guangde kept uttering new words, but Zhang Juzheng could probably understand their literal meaning.

After all, he was born into a military family and his grandfather was a military commander. Although he had never fought in a war, he had heard and seen a lot of it.

Thinking of Wei Guangde's words again, Zhang Juzheng actually quickly understood Wei Guangde's analysis of the battlefield, which is that cannons can fire far away and beat the enemy first, and then when they get closer, they can use Portuguese cannons to bombard the enemy, and there are also many garrisons in the army that are now equipped with tiger squat cannons and bird guns, and finally there will be a real fight with swords and guns.

"Well, that makes sense."

Zhang Juzheng nodded in support, saying that although these firearms cost a lot of money to manufacture, as long as they could win the battle, the money spent was actually a small matter.

For them, losing a battle is unacceptable, but as for spending money, they can always find a way to do it.

Immediately, Wei Guangde wrote a note in the duty room and asked Lu Bu to arrange someone to deliver it to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works.