Daming: I, the emperor who trains the carpenter

Chapter 889 Wanfang is guilty, and I am the only one to blame!

Flat thief pay!
The Ming Dynasty had a regular tax, which was collected by the imperial court; the local government also had a corresponding local tax, which was used by the local government.

However, in addition to this, there were many additional miscellaneous taxes in the Ming Dynasty, some were temporarily collected by the court and localities, some were created by the nobles themselves, and some were levied by Emperor Chongzhen in response to natural and man-made disasters.

It can be said that the people of Daming today are really taxed.

If Chongzhen's ancestor, Emperor Jiajing, was the Emperor of Longevity, then it would be easy for Chongzhen to be the Emperor of Ten Thousand Taxes.

As time came to the end of the sixth year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty, various unbelievable local taxes have become commonplace.

Take the people of Henan Province as an example, in addition to paying the imperial court’s taxes, the Henan government’s local taxes, local additional miscellaneous taxes, and the three additional taxes imposed by the imperial court to suppress chaos, they also have to pay for military training fees collected by Cheng Guogong Zhu Chunchen. Tax.

That's right, Cheng Guogong Zhu Chunchen also needs to collect taxes, because he has 10,000+ mouths waiting to eat. These eight uncles may not be able to fight, but they are definitely good at eating. Don't let these eight uncles eat meat three times a day There are vegetables, but two meals are also provided.

If soldiers don't have enough to eat, they can't fight and they can't talk about morale.

The Chongzhen court originally belonged to the two-front war. Later, the burden of the two-front war was too heavy and Zhu Chunchen retreated to Henan. Therefore, the food and grass supply to Zhu Chunchen was reduced a lot, and he was transferred to the northwest to Hong Chengchou to let him fight first.

For this reason, Emperor Chongzhen also specially wrote to Zhu Chunchen to explain to Cheng Guogong: After all, you are not fighting now, and the Northwest is at a critical moment, so you should tighten your belt first and last for a while.Of course, I didn't forget the importance of Shandong, and allowed Qing to temporarily collect taxes in Henan to deal with military supplies.

With the instruction of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Chunchen naturally began to collect taxes.

Zhu Chunchen is not really a fool, he naturally knows that the tree of Daming cannot fall, or the tree of Chongzhen cannot fall, they are nobles, they are inherently attached to the imperial power, and only with the existence of the Zhu Ming Dynasty can they continue to enjoy the glory and wealth.

Civil servants can surrender, and local governors can surrender, but can they, the nobles enshrined by Zhu Ming, surrender?

The whole family was almost tied to death on the chariot of Lao Zhu's family. Only by keeping the country of Lao Zhu's family can everyone have a good life.

In order to keep the country of old Zhu's family, and to ensure a good life for their family, Zhu Chunchen and Zhu Guobi really did their best.

The conscience of heaven and earth, the official taxes and miscellaneous taxes of the imperial court in Henan, the regular taxes and miscellaneous taxes of local governments, the taxes borne by the people of Henan are as high as a dozen kinds, not counting all kinds of hidden taxes that can only be understood but cannot be said.

With so much tax on them, and the harvest in Henan is not good this year, the people complained and felt that they couldn’t survive, but the imperial court is paying more and more taxes. Today’s Henan is no different from a big gunpowder barrel.

Faced with this situation, Zhu Chunchen didn't dare to act recklessly. He didn't dare to tax the people any more, so he chose to ask the local government for money. Anyway, you collected so much money and food, what happened to support your country's princes in the war?
However, Zhu Chunchen did not expect that Emperor Chongzhen would increase taxes!

Just a moment after the imperial decree was issued to transfer soldiers and horses from the provinces of Huguang, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Fujian, and Guizhou to Beijing, the imperial decree to levy the thieves' salary in each province was also issued.

Now the people all over the world are really angry. The north is a year of catastrophe. Although it seems that the disasters are all in Gansu and Shanxi, Shanxi and Henan are also suffering to varying degrees. It's just that the local government has not reported yet. Just go up.

Now the imperial court doesn't want to think about disaster relief or how the people live, but they still have to increase taxes!
Since Chongzhen banned various new policies and laws and restored the original tax in the second year of Chongzhen, the tax of Chongzhen Dynasty has been rising every year, and the pressure on the people is increasing.

Originally, the life of a large family can be regarded as full, and then there is hunger and full meal, and finally one meal a day, and then half a day a day. The whole family lives from hunger and hunger. More and more taxes to pay
The people are still patient, but the patience of the people is almost reaching its limit.

When the imperial decree to levy thieves' salaries was spread to Henan, the common people couldn't help but explode.

"My lord, the grassroots have to pay dozens of taxes. Why do they have to pay a flat thief's salary? This is a year of drought in Henan. Every household has no food and cooking. How can there be money and food?"

The petty official in charge of tax collection is very calm. He has seen many scenes of these people crying about how poor and difficult they are. It took a lot of effort, but so what?
How much should I pay in the end, or should I collect it all?

Still the same sentence, if you squeeze it, you can always squeeze out some oil and water.

"My folks, this tax was set by the imperial court. It was collected by His Majesty and his old man in order to deal with the Datong thieves in Liaodong. As long as your majesty puts down the Datong thieves, these taxes will naturally not have to be paid. The court is currently in difficulty. Don’t worry about it and pay more taxes for your own sake? Don’t you, as the people of Ming Dynasty, have no spirit to contribute to Ming Dynasty?” The official tried to persuade him, and now he also understands that it is not easy to collect taxes at the local level , one will be besieged by unscrupulous people, and there are more and more of these unscrupulous people!

An old man couldn't help asking: "My lord, doesn't your majesty know that Henan has been hit by a disaster? Why do you still have to pay so much tax? The lives of grassroots people really can't go on."

"Hey, what you said, how can Da Ming not suffer from disasters? With a group of evildoers like the Datong thieves, how can it be natural and man-made disasters in Da Ming? If you don't help the court to wipe out the Datong thieves, you will be able to live well in the future? This is not for the court. , It's for yourselves." The officials said plainly, but they didn't look at these sallow and emaciated people.

Finally someone couldn't help it: "For us, for the court, does the court really think about us common people? What kind of life did we live when the first emperor was in power, and what kind of life are we living now? Talking about the Datong thief provoked anger and resentment." , but the Datong Society is obviously a new party, and it was established by Zhang Xiangye! We don’t know about others, don’t we know about Zhang Xiangye? How could we have a good life without Zhang Xiangye?”

"As soon as Master Zhang left, our life became worse and worse. It was said that there were monsters in the court. I don't think the monsters are in Liaodong, but in the capital! Good times are gone, taxes are increasing, and everyone is bullying Us, what kind of day is this!"

The official finally couldn't stand still, his face drooped: "I said, did you not understand? This tax is to be paid by His Majesty, is it something you can just complain about?"

"Good days, good days, you have lived good days for so many years, and you have had enough food for several years, why are you still not satisfied? The good days are not all given to you by the court. Now the court wants you to work harder. Each of you Complaints, why, do you still want to rebel?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a stone was thrown and hit the official on the head, making him dizzy immediately.

The official felt dizzy for a while, and staggered as he covered his head, only feeling the warm liquid continuously flow down. When he saw it suddenly, the official was horrified to find that his hands were covered with blood, and that he had been beaten on the head by these unscrupulous people!
"It's reversed, reversed, a group of unscrupulous people, wanting to rebel despite their peaceful lives!" The official pointed at the crowd in surprise and anger, as if he was not a small official, but a senior governor.

"Days of peace, if there were days of peace, who would rebel?! This Chongzhen Dynasty has more taxes every year, and it is impossible to survive! We don't want a good life, but we have to eat, who is not a big family My son, who doesn’t want to raise a baby for the elderly? The imperial court doesn’t let our family live, so why don’t we allow us to rebel?” A man shouted loudly.

When he yelled, the people immediately became agitated, and the few yamen servants who followed the officials were a little scared. They were just local hooligans in the county, and they were only outsourced temporary workers for the yamen servants in the county government. They never thought about dealing with rebellion. ah.

"Folks, what kind of life did we live when the late emperor was here? Are we living the life of human beings now? Individuals bully us, officials bully us, landlords bully us, and those local hooligans bully us, but the imperial court and Blind as if you can't see!"

"What a good man Mr. Zhang is. Give us a tax cut so that we can live a good life with enough food and clothing. Whose family doesn't have a full stomach because of Mr. Zhang, and whose family doesn't have a few feet of cloth for the baby and the mother-in-law? Clothes? But such a good official was forced to leave, and he also said that Mr. Zhang is a monster. I can understand it. Rather than being forced by the court to ruin his family, it is better to turn against him directly!"

As the man yelled, more and more voices echoed among the crowd. They were already suppressed and full of resentment. Now, listening to the news in Shandong and Shaanxi, the common people seem to have a flame burning in their hearts: Shandong and Shaanxi The uprising has begun, and now it's our turn!
"Reverse! Reverse!"

"Uprising, go to his court!"

"If you don't let us live, we won't follow this court!"

The common people clamored and swarmed up to beat the official away. As for the temporary yamen servants, they had already seen that the situation was not going well and ran away.

The people know best who treats them well. Although the people are silent, they still have memories. They have personally experienced the events of the Apocalypse Dynasty. They saw that during the Apocalypse Dynasty, the monarchs and ministers devoted themselves to the New Deal and tried their best to make the people live a peaceful and healthy life. It was a good day; it was the new atmosphere of the Tianqi Dynasty, the local economy was prosperous, the people were rich, and they had no worries about food and clothing; it was the great flood that saw the monarchs and ministers take the lead in disaster relief and flood fighting, and the surrounding provincial governments supported the restoration of construction; After seeing the prosperity of the Tianqi Dynasty, the people are more and more dissatisfied with the current Chongzhen Dynasty.

Don't want to be as strong and peaceful as the Tianqi Dynasty, at least let the people have enough to eat, right?

After the prosperous age, no matter what, the people can live a peaceful life for a few years, but why did the Chongzhen Dynasty's family collapse after the prosperous age of the Tianqi Dynasty passed?

The common people don't understand, and the common people don't want to care about the filth and darkness in the imperial court. They just want to eat and wear warm clothes, and live their lives according to their duties.

It's a pity that the Chongzhen Dynasty could not meet such demands, so the people broke out.

This is not agitation by the Datong Society, but a spontaneous uprising by the people.

Zhang Xianzhong, who was facing the siege by Hong Chengchou's soldiers in Henan Mansion, couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard the news: "Hey, this dog court is really making people angry, saying that the Datong thief is a monster, and saying that he wants to put down the monster. It's all monsters!"

Sensing the resentment of the people in Henan Province, Zhang Xianzhong felt that he was refreshed and able to jump again. He immediately sent many people to various parts of Henan Province to encourage the people to rebel. He did not expect these people to join his team. As long as the people rebelled, The Henan government government will send people to suppress it, and his life will be easier.

And this is just a place in Henan.

People in Huguang, Sichuan, Fujian, Jiangxi and other places also began to rebel one after another. For a while, with Emperor Chongzhen’s levying of thieves’ salaries, there was a surge of heroes from the north and the south of Ming Dynasty, and the fire of uprisings broke out everywhere, which made the local government officials burnt out. The book was given to Emperor Chongzhen.

At the end of the sixth year of Chongzhen, it was spent in the constant uprisings of the people in the provinces of Ming Dynasty.

The arrival of Zhengdan, the beginning of the new year.

But Chongzhen couldn't see the breath of renewal in Vientiane, and he couldn't see the scene of prosperity and peace, and the palace was not very festive, on the contrary, it was very deserted.

Emperor Chongzhen received a steady stream of newsletter from localities during the Chinese New Year. Either the local people rebelled, or the local people rebelled. It seemed that the world of Ming Dynasty was like a broken sieve, and water was leaking everywhere.

Under such circumstances, how did Chongzhen celebrate the New Year, and where did he feel in the New Year?

And money is used everywhere, where did Chongzhen get the money for the New Year?
So there are not many red lanterns and palace lanterns in the palace. Except for a few places that look brighter, the whole Forbidden City is gloomy and deserted.

The happy money and monthly gifts in the palace are also getting less and less, and Emperor Chongzhen can't increase the income, so he can only keep reducing expenditure.

In the Hall of Martial Heroes, Wang Chengen watched Emperor Chongzhen bury his head in reviewing the papers. It was obviously the year of his thirties, when he was full of vigor and energy, but Emperor Chongzhen looked very haggard and old, and his figure was also very thin. A man of prime age.

After reviewing the papers of the local governors, and then looking at the papers of the cabinet and court officials, Zhu Youjian only felt that he was exhausted physically and mentally. Whose responsibility was it for so many problems in the Chongzhen Dynasty?
Is it really Zhang Haogu and those Datong thieves?

But why were they able to keep the people from rebelling at that time?
Why is it that the eunuchs and maids in the palace, as well as the common people outside, are still thinking about the previous dynasty, the late emperor and Zhang Haogu?
Is Zhu Youjian's Chongzhen Dynasty really that bad?

So frustrated, Zhu Youjian still had to cheer up, after all, his ancestors put the burden of the country on him, and he had to resist.

In the middle of the night, Zhu Youjian looked at the records of the court ministers, and he was shocked to find that these court ministers actually wanted him to issue an edict to calm down the current chaos in the world. Some officials even said that all kinds of exorbitant taxes are a disaster for the country lift.

Doesn't he know that these exorbitant taxes are a heavy burden for the people, but now that the court doesn't collect taxes, the court spends millions of taels of silver every year, how can it deal with the fire in all directions, and how can it deal with Zhang Haogu in Liaodong?

Could it be that let him watch Daming's country and his ancestor's foundation ruined in his hands? !

Annoyed, Zhu Youjian threw away the booklet, picked up the tea that had been cold for some time, and drank it. He is frugal by nature, and he is used to living in poverty. He is not willing to change the heat when the tea is cold. The palace can save some charcoal. And firewood, you can save a little more money.

Sighing, Zhu Youjian got up and walked to the dark red charcoal basin to warm up the fire, when suddenly he heard someone whispering outside the hall.

"Oh, these days are getting more and more difficult."

"Who said it wasn't? In the past, there was a little festiveness in the New Year's Palace. The nobles rewarded some happy money, and we servants have a better life. Now, alas."

"I still remember when the first emperor was here. It was really good. Every year there were lanterns and festoons in the palace. As servants, we not only got happy money, but also received extra monthly money. The nobles also rewarded all kinds of wine, meat and snacks. Follow along to watch the singing and dancing, watch the fireworks display, it was really a good day at that time."

"Yeah, everyone said it was a prosperous age. The court was rich, the palace was rich, and they had never lost a war. Barbarians from all over the world came to pay homage. The countries in Southeast Asia and the Western Regions are really domineering."

"The nobles are good to the servants, but now, let alone money, wine, meat and snacks, we can't even afford charcoal fires. More and more people in the palace have died of freezing recently."

"Your Majesty saves a lot himself. Where do we servants get the charcoal to use? Your Majesty is frugal, and we all feel sad. How much money can be saved by this frugality. Look at the life in this palace. Country rich man."

"Well, it's better when the first emperor was back. Everyone said that Mr. Zhang was a monster, but when Mr. Zhang was in charge, we eunuchs were also human beings."

"Keep down, don't die, if His Majesty hears it, you and I will die!"

Zhu Youjian listened quietly to the discussion outside, his whole face was extremely calm, neither sad nor happy.

Wang Chengen stood quietly on the side, watching Zhu Youjian roasting sporadic fires beside the dim brazier. The temperature in the Hall of Martial Heroes was not high, and the only charcoal fire was burnt out, and it was frighteningly cold again.

Zhu Youjian didn't know how long he stood in front of the brazier, and finally he got up and went back to the table, thinking about the bleak and deserted situation in the palace and the current situation of uprisings in the place, Daming is finally in the wind and rain.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Youjian began to write the edict of guilt, and said while writing: "The two eunuchs outside, let's die with sticks. Since they are thinking about the late emperor, let them serve the late emperor. I don't want such a slave with a different heart." .”

After Wang Chengen heard the order, he hurried out and heard two young eunuchs begging for mercy and crying in terror. Soon, the guards dragged them farther and farther away, and the begging and crying became farther and farther away, until can not hear.

Finally, Zhu Youjian, who hadn’t slept all night, wrote a long edict of guilt with mixed feelings. In the edict, he blamed the incompetence of the court officials and the corruption of local government officials for the rebellion of the people in various places in Ming Dynasty. He said that there were treacherous officials who deceived the saints, and he would deal with these corrupt officials and treacherous officials and thieves; at the same time, he also explained the various levies. Years of natural disasters have been blamed by him on the birth of monsters, so he will definitely wipe out the monsters and so on
In the end, Zhu Youjian declared that he was the emperor. There were so many natural and man-made disasters in Ming Dynasty, and the people complained that he must be responsible, and he would definitely come up with a solution.

At the beginning of the seventh year of Chongzhen, the curtain was drawn with the issuance of Zhu Youjian's criminal edict.

(End of this chapter)