prosperous age

Zhang Ke received the urgent report from Xuanfu, examined the sealed document, opened it, and said, "Anda Khan has fallen ill."

"It is rare for a person to live to seventy, but this Khan is seventy-one."

Upon hearing Zhang Ke's words, Wei Guangde pondered for a moment before replying.

Yes, I'm seventy-one.

Good loan, I know that even if Anda Khan survives this, he probably won't have many years left to live.

His death is a small matter, but will it affect the relationship between the imperial court and the Tumed tribe?

Previously, his son, Huang Taiji, had repeatedly provoked Liaodong.

Zhang Ke would never forget why he came here. It was Zeng Shengwu's mishandling of the situation that made Wei Guangde give up the idea of ​​appointing him as Minister of War and instead put him in charge.

"After Hongtubao, does Huang Taiji still dare to be an enemy of my Great Ming?"

Leaving aside Liaodong, even the Jizhou and Xuanda garrisons—the Mongol army, with its limited numbers, might not dare to challenge either of them.

Wei Guangde chuckled lightly. At this point, Wei Guangde suddenly remembered the previous arrangements.

In the past two years, many magnificent temples have been erected on the grasslands, consuming a lot of Mongolian manpower.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty didn't fare well either, losing a lot of money and resources.

After all, it was the Ming Dynasty that agreed to and supported it back then. If they hadn't given a single penny back then, the Mongols would have inevitably noticed something amiss.

At this point, one must be even more careful and cautious in planning, and absolutely cannot make any mistakes.

Otherwise, if the death of Altan Khan causes the Mongols to stop building temples on the grasslands, then the Ming Dynasty's initial investment would be wasted.

Where is Sonam Gyatso? Is he still on the grassland?

Wei Guangde pressed for an answer.

Zhang Ke shook his head. "After the Jokhang Temple, which was built under the supervision of Sonam Gyatso last year, was completed, Sonam Gyatso went to the capital to preach at the beginning of the year. After that, he went to Litang in western Sichuan to build Litang Temple."

It is said to be extremely grand in scale, and it has received support from the Mongolian Dharma King Cheke Aden and the Naxi chieftain of Lijiang, Yunnan, and is even comparable to the Jokhang Temple.

He should be there now; the Ministry of War has not received any further news about him.

"These lamas only know that building temples is good. They only care about building temples and don't think about anything else."

Wei Guangde lowered his head and read a sentence. Zhang Ke chuckled and said, "You, Shan Dai, don't forget that when they build temples, the imperial court will also allocate two or three tenths of the expenses."

"But the majority of the wealth comes from the grasslands and the chieftains of the southwest, which also weakens them."

Wei Guangde immediately replied.

"When I get back, I need to write to Sichuan and ask them to expedite the construction of the Litang Monastery and complete it as soon as possible so that Sonam Gyatso can return to Mongolia in time."

Wei Guangde stood up and said something.

"What is he doing in Mongolia? Does it have any significance for our Ming Dynasty?"

Zhang Ke asked in confusion.

"The next Living Buddha must be a member of the Borjigin family, a descendant of Anda Khan."

Otherwise, all of the court's previous plans might fall through.

The Tumed leader, seeing no sufficient benefit, would not help the Gelug school regain control of Tibet.

"Heh, Huang Taiji sees no chance of winning in Liaodong, so he might be more willing to send troops to Tibet."

Wei Guangde continued.

In order to weaken the threat posed by the Mongols to the Ming Dynasty, Wei Guangde devised a strategy to deeply bind the Altan Khan family with the Yellow Sect.

This would allow them to draw Mongol forces into Tibet and weaken them there.

Now that the Ming Dynasty is powerful, there is no need to continue this strategy. However, Wei Guangde always feels a headache whenever he thinks about the Han people's ability to operate in Tibet.

Altitude sickness remains an unsolved problem even in later generations.

Occasionally, news reports even surface about people dying from severe altitude sickness.

It was unrealistic for the Ming army to launch an expedition to Tibet. On the contrary, the men from the Mongolian Plateau would react much less there and would remain energetic and vigorous once they arrived on the snowy plateau.

"Hurry and have someone make a copy; I'll take it back to the cabinet."

Wei Guangde spoke to Zhang Ke.

"it is good."

Zhang Ke agreed and summoned the clerk from outside the door, instructing him to copy and archive the document immediately.

Before long, the clerk copied the Xuanfu military report and delivered it here. Zhang Ke stamped it with the Ministry of War's seal and handed it to Wei Guangde.

"Then I'll be going now. As we agreed before, the Ministry of War's documents at the end of the year should focus on the Burmese rebellion."

Wei Guangde took the military report from Xuanfu, got up to say goodbye, and didn't forget to remind him before leaving.

"Don't worry, Shan Dai, I will take care of this matter."

Zhang Ke answered as he saw him out.

Wei Guangde didn't delay. He left the Ministry of War, got into a sedan chair, and went straight back to the cabinet.

Instead of going to find Zhang Juzheng, he returned to his duty room first, picked up a pen and quickly wrote a document to be sent to the governor of Sichuan. Only then did he take the document and the Xuanfu military report to find Zhang Juzheng.

"Shan Dai is back. Come, sit down and let's talk."

Zhang Juzheng welcomed Wei Guangde in and seated him, then asked, "Have those military uniforms all been distributed?"

"The last batch was shipped yesterday and should be delivered to the soldiers before winter."

After sitting down, Wei Guangde replied, "I plan to have the cotton-padded clothes transported next year inspected by the Cabinet and the Censorate together before they are shipped, so as to prevent the people below from shortchanging us and enriching themselves at the expense of the public."

Wei Guangde continued.

"Wouldn't this be inappropriate, given the Ministry of War's reaction?"

Zhang Juzheng didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: he was afraid the Ministry of War would be displeased.

"Not necessarily. The court provides enough, and if they produce high-quality products, they will also reap considerable benefits."

After the incident involving the Marquis of Wuqing a little over half a year ago, Wei Guangde carefully calculated the cost of military uniforms and directly intervened in the distribution of profits in military procurement.

To ensure the timeliness and quality of military supplies, it is necessary to strike a balance. Everyone understands the principle that "if the water is too clear, there will be no fish." Each government department must be given a certain share of the profits in order to ensure that official duties can be carried out effectively.

Generally, 30% of the profits go to the merchants, who are also directly responsible for ensuring the quality of military supplies.

The remaining portion will be allocated to the Censorate, primarily for their oversight to prevent any recurrence of shoddy workmanship.

Of the remaining 60%, most went to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, and a small portion was given to military garrisons.

"Alas, neither you nor I can change the current system of the imperial court; we can only make some minor repairs."

Zhang Juzheng sighed.

Back when they were still in the Prince Yu's mansion, Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, and Chen Yiqin often criticized the corruption of the government. Whenever they talked about it, they would say that they should clarify the official system and restore a bright and clear world to the Ming Dynasty.

But when he actually reached that position, which was what Gao Gong had tried to do, he seriously dealt with those corrupt officials, but in the end he found that he couldn't investigate any further.

If a real investigation were to be conducted, not to mention officials in the capital, the imperial court would have to replace almost all local officials; very few would remain uninvolved.

"Uncle, this has been the case since the beginning of the dynasty. What can we do about it?"

Ultimately, the problem was that the stipends set by the founding emperor were too low, while those for members of the imperial clan were too high.

Wei Guangde said, "Heh, Shan Dai, do you even believe what you're saying?"

Zhang Juzheng smiled and said something.

"hehe."

Wei Guangde lowered his head slightly and chuckled twice.

In reality, most scholars in the Ming Dynasty went astray from the moment they began to study diligently—or more accurately, from the moment they began to participate in the imperial examinations.

Wei Guangde also experienced the illicit affairs of scholars involving gambling and prostitution back then, which means that drugs had not yet been invented. It's possible that scholars in the Ming Dynasty would have been eager to engage in these activities.

It can be said that scholars already knew from the beginning how to spend money lavishly and enjoy themselves. They studied hard for ten years, just so that they could continue to enjoy themselves after becoming officials.

There are officials who take the world as their responsibility, like Hai Rui, but so what? They are too few and far between.

Moreover, strictly speaking, Hai Rui was actually a corrupt official. If Emperor Taizu were still alive, the benefits he received from the government offices in the Ming Dynasty would probably be considered evidence of a capital offense, let alone the so-called "ice and charcoal tributes."

Those welfare benefits, in the end, are all "the people's hard-earned money".

"How about adjusting officials' salaries and linking them to commercial taxes?"

Wei Guangde suddenly said.

"what?"

Before Zhang Juzheng could react, he asked instinctively.

However, he quickly realized that Wei Guangde was up to something.

It was clear that he intended to raise commercial taxes while simultaneously increasing officials' salaries.

"The salary system was established at the beginning of the dynasty and cannot be changed."

Zhang Juzheng was telling the truth, as recorded in the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty." Otherwise, officials would have already petitioned the emperor to increase their salaries and benefits. Instead, they would be resorting to all sorts of ways to make money, even inventing "floating money," all in an effort to increase their income.

"The founding emperor established the official rank and salary system. We can increase the salaries of those with honorary titles and those with honorary titles. Wouldn't that be equivalent to increasing the salaries of officials?"

Without sufficient salaries, official corruption will never be prevented.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

At that time in the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the families of officials and local gentry, it was almost impossible for those poor students who studied hard to achieve success in their studies with only their own meager family wealth.

Most of them had to rely on the help of their clan. Children from poor families could only get ahead by relying on the power of their clan, and the clan would naturally contribute their efforts in the hope that the children would repay the clan after they succeeded.

When officials make money, part of it is to satisfy their own needs, and the other part is to give back to their clan.

"Let's put that aside for now. You mentioned before that you planned to reform local government and bring officials under the management of the Ministry of Personnel. I think that would be more appropriate."

To eliminate local levies, it's essential to clarify the local official records.

Zhang Juzheng mentioned a suggestion from Wei Guangde, which in modern terms means increasing the number of civil servants.

During the Ming Dynasty, apart from military households, very few people could receive a salary from the imperial court; in a county, there were only a handful.

Therefore, some people in later generations said that in the Ming Dynasty, a county only had a few civil servants, and a county magistrate had to support a whole team.

In the Ming Dynasty, only a few people in a county were considered official officials of the imperial court: the county magistrate, the county assistant magistrate, and the chief clerk who managed documents and archives.

Apart from the county magistrate, the others were all unranked civil officials, but they were selected by the Ministry of Personnel and were therefore also formal officials.

In addition, those who may be included in the establishment include county instructors appointed by the provincial governor's office, patrol inspectors and post station managers selected by the Ministry of War, and tax commissioners appointed by the Ministry of Revenue.

These are the few people who are listed in the official register of the Ming Dynasty and are eligible to receive salaries.

The others were all "lackeys" kept by these officials. They held official positions in public, but in reality, they were just helpers hired by the officials.

Of course, in modern terms, everyone else was considered a "public sector employee," supported by local government funds.

This is why local governments had the right to impose levies, adding miscellaneous taxes on top of the regular taxes.

The six departments of the yamen were staffed with clerks, and there were also runners and miscellaneous servants in the county government. These were the staff members who mainly did hard labor such as running errands, apprehending thieves, and collecting taxes.

The "three classes of servants" that people often talk about are: the first is the black-clad servants, who wear black clothes and mainly serve the county magistrate.

Their duties included standing guard inside the yamen (government office); accompanying the chief official on inspection tours outside the yamen (government office) and clearing the way for officials; acting as a guard; and appearing in court to administer corporal punishment during trials.

The second type was the fast-running squad, which was divided into two types: horse-riding and foot-riding. They were mainly used by county and prefectural officials and were responsible for investigation and espionage work in the government offices.

Their duties included patrolling at night, summoning and arresting people, and they were also frequently sent to the countryside to collect taxes.

Thirdly, there is the Zhuangban, which is mainly composed of physically strong and courageous individuals.

Their main tasks included guarding government offices, protecting warehouses, suppressing public unrest, escorting imperial supplies through the country, and maintaining public order.

In addition to the "three shifts of servants" in the county government, the county Confucian school, post station, and patrol office also had their own miscellaneous servants.

According to the information Wei Guangde had, at this time, the counties under the Ming Dynasty had hundreds of constables in small counties and even thousands in large counties.

The imperial court itself knew that the meager salaries it distributed were far from sufficient to govern such a large county.

"Now, all provinces are trying to apportion miscellaneous taxes according to their actual circumstances and incorporate them into the Single Whip Law."

I was thinking about this matter, whether we could include all the officials under the jurisdiction of each county, so that we could determine the tax categories for each region.

Once the tax rate is set, the people will only need to pay taxes according to the set rate, thus reclaiming the right of local governments to impose miscellaneous taxes.

Zhang Juzheng began by saying, "If there are other projects that need to be allocated, local officials and wealthy households should negotiate, or the expenditures can be funded by donations, or the provincial government can be requested to provide subsidies."

Zhang Juzheng was referring to donations, which were a form of apportionment, essentially a way of collecting money from local powerful families as protection fees.

"We can choose one province to try it out, and let the Censorate keep an eye on it to prevent any trouble."

Wei Guangde doesn't mind conducting experiments; he'll promote it on a large scale as long as the results are good.

To put it bluntly, as long as the people know how much tax they have to pay on their land each year, they can choose whether they want to be self-cultivating farmers or tenant farmers.

What ordinary people fear most is the sudden imposition of taxes and levies, as this is the main source of the risk of their families being ruined.

"By the way, this is an urgent report from Xuanfu. It seems that Anda Khan is not going to make it."

After saying all that, Wei Guangde finally remembered his purpose and handed over the Ministry of War documents, but did not show Zhang Juzheng the ones he had written for the time being.

Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly upon hearing this, and then took the document to examine it.

They didn't care about Altan Khan's life or death, but they were concerned about the relationship between the Mongol descendants and the Ming Dynasty.

Especially since the imperial court had already made arrangements for this, Zhang Juzheng did not rush to express his opinion, but instead looked at Wei Guangde and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

"This is the document I drafted for the Governor of Sichuan."

Wei Guangde then handed his writing to Zhang Juzheng and briefly explained Sonam Gyatso's situation in western Sichuan.

“If Anda Khan really fails, Sonam Gyatso will definitely go north and may even stay on the grassland for a long time. He also needs to ensure Mongolia’s support for the Yellow Sect.”

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said.

"That's exactly why Litang Temple needs to be completed as soon as possible, so that the Sichuan governor and provincial treasurer can contribute more."

Wei Guangde said.

"Who holds military power in the Tumet region now?"

Zhang Juzheng suddenly asked.

"It should be in the hands of the Princess Consort of Shunyi." (End of Chapter)