The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

In the imperial court, some were delighted, while others frowned.

However, none of these things are relevant to Chen Wang now.

Chen Wang's reason for setting up the "anti-corruption allowance" was not for the sake of the current officials of the Ming Dynasty, but rather for future considerations.

The salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were set far too low, making it extremely difficult for honest officials to survive.

With generous allowances for maintaining integrity, truly honest officials would not fall into poverty because of their official positions.

When Hai Rui was the magistrate of Chun'an County, he bought two catties of meat for his mother's birthday, which became a sensational story.

The "Chronicles of Jinling" records this event: "When Qingtian went to the market to buy meat, the streets were deserted and children ran around telling each other the news."

This is enough to show how difficult the lives of truly honest officials in the Ming Dynasty were.

If one does not refuse to offer sacrifices or make false donations, does not take bribes, and does not embezzle money, even as the most powerful person in a county, one would find it difficult to even eat a bite of meat.

A figure like Hai Rui is rare in the world, so how can everyone be like Hai Rui?
Chen Wang asked himself honestly, and he knew he could never do what Hai Rui did.

He also didn't want his brothers, who had followed him to conquer the world and risked their lives, to live a simple life.

Therefore, whether it was Hu Zhili keeping seven or eight concubines, Chen Gong living a life of luxury, or the generals living extravagantly, he did not severely reprimand them.

Chen Wang himself was the same.

He could endure the hardships of marching and sleeping outdoors during battles.

But in peaceful times, it would be quite unreasonable to expect him to continue living a life of poverty and self-discipline.

He also has many desires.

He wanted a large and luxurious residence.

He was used to wearing fine clothes and didn't want to wear those coarse linen shirts anymore.

Having grown accustomed to fine food, one finds it difficult to swallow coarse, simple meals.

Humans have seven emotions and six desires; having desires is a natural human trait.

However, Chen Wang certainly did not forget.

What kind of life do ordinary people lead these days?

It is precisely because of this understanding of human nature.

Therefore, Chen Wang knew that rather than demanding that every official become like Hai Rui, it was better to provide them with reasonable treatment so that they could maintain a decent life while upholding their integrity.

The purpose of setting up a stipend for integrity is not to condone the extravagant lifestyle of officials, but to ensure that honest officials are no longer troubled by their livelihood, and to allow virtuous and capable people to concentrate on their duties.

It's not for now, but for later.

Even with the provision of anti-corruption allowances, corruption still occurs.

However, corruption cannot be eradicated.

Only by considering human nature step by step and continuously optimizing the system based on current events can we reduce corruption.

As long as corruption remains within a controllable range, the country's politics will not deteriorate to an unmanageable degree.

Chen Wang's gaze shifted slightly, and he glanced at Ma Shiying almost imperceptibly.

Ma Shiying immediately understood, lightly flicked his sleeves, and loudly proclaimed.

"The Duke of Yan's proposal is indeed a good one. If salaries are too meager, it will be difficult to retain honest officials; if the fire tax is not reformed, it will be difficult to stop corruption."

"Now, the Duke of Yan collects the funds from the 'fire loss' (a tax on official duties) for public use and establishes a 'cleanliness allowance' (a allowance for those who maintain integrity). This not only eliminates the source of corruption but also protects honest and upright officials; it is truly a win-win solution."

Ma Shiying returned to the ranks of the civil officials.

"The Duke of Yan's proposal is well thought out. I have considered it carefully and it is indeed a good policy."

Emperor Longwu nodded slightly, seemingly very satisfied, and looked at the court officials with different expressions in the hall before speaking.

"The Duke of Yan has proposed four new policies, but only two have been implemented so far. Please elaborate on the other two."

"I will obey Your Majesty's decree."

Chen Wang turned around again and continued on his way.

"Your subject proposes the third clause: 'Equalize the poll tax and incorporate it into the land tax.'"

"By imperial decree, I have investigated the old system of poll tax in various provinces and found that the current poll tax system is riddled with problems."

"According to the law, the population is surveyed every five years and divided into nine classes according to wealth, with the richest paying nine qian of silver per year and the poorest paying one qian of silver. This is a good system of taxation based on the family's wealth and poverty."

The poll tax, simply put, was a tax levied on the number of people in the population. The imperial court would collect silver or arrange corvée labor based on this number.

"However, in practice, local officials often do things perfunctorily. In order to show their achievements and collect more taxes, they also collude with wealthy local households and often exaggerate the number of people."

“The names of the deceased that should have been deleted were not deleted, while babies that should not have been added were forcibly added to the tax register. Some people have been dead for many years, but their names are still on the tax register. Some babies have just been born and are being asked to pay taxes.”

Chen Wang lowered his head slightly and continued.

"Ordinary people would try every means to hide their true population in order to pay less tax."

"Wealthy households, on the other hand, have even more means. They have many servants and a large family, yet they can collude with local officials to conceal their activities and thus pay less tax."

“The rich own vast tracts of land and have few laborers, while the poor own no land and are burdened with corvée labor.”

"This law is also one of the bad laws that cause the people to suffer and the national treasury to be empty."

Historically, the population of the Qing Dynasty increased dramatically after the implementation of the land tax reform.

This is exactly the effect Chen Wang wanted.

Although the world now has a population of over 100 million, it is still not enough for his plans.

China is vast, yet also not so vast.

His army could sweep across all nations, but it was unable to rule them.

If a place is conquered, but the customs and traditions are not changed, and the original people are allowed to remain in the area, it will be lost again in just a few dynasties.

Historically, China has repeatedly entered and ruled the Western Regions, conquered Myanmar, occupied Annam, and pacified the Gobi Desert.

However, not long after, when China's national power declined, these places were lost again.

Therefore, what Chen Wang wanted to do was to expand the territory with his army, then relocate Chinese people to these places, replace the local people, make them the main population, and then completely occupy these places.

Chen Wang clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, requesting permission to serve.

"Therefore, I request the implementation of the 'equalization of poll tax and land tax' system, which would convert all poll taxes into land taxes and levy them uniformly based on the amount of land owned, with those owning more land paying more, those owning less land paying less, and those owning no land paying nothing."

The land tax reform, which merges the poll tax with the land tax, is undoubtedly a policy that harms the interests of officials in the court and local gentry.

However, due to Chen Wang's deterrent effect, and also because Chen Wang's first new law was too shocking.

After Chen Wang finished speaking, there was no response whatsoever.

Chen Wang did not wait and continued to present the fourth new law.

"The fourth article of the new policy is entitled: Reform the garrison and reorganize the army."

The fourth clause in Chen Wang's proposal did not cause much of a stir among the civil officials, but it did cause a sudden change in the expressions of the military officials and nobles.

"In the past, Emperor Taizu Gao established the garrison system as a good method of 'integrating soldiers with farmers, combining military and agricultural activities.'"

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, after a long period of war, the economy was devastated and the country's finances were in difficulty.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's implementation of the garrison system greatly reduced the country's financial burden, enabling the Ming Dynasty to maintain an unprecedentedly large standing army for a long period of time.

The garrison system was good, but it was also bad; like all systems, it had its limitations.

As time went on, the flaws of the garrison system gradually became apparent.

The guards were too weak to fight and could only serve as soldiers to defend cities. Only a few guard posts on the frontier still possessed considerable skills due to long-term military pressure.

The rise of the conscription system in the mid-to-late period enabled the Ming Dynasty to reverse its decline.

Zhu Yuanzhang's policies after unification mostly focused on cutting spending rather than increasing revenue.

Even with open source, the solutions they came up with were things like the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes, which exhausted the country.

The thought of the Ming Dynasty's precious paper money gave Chen Wang a headache.

If the Ming Dynasty had not issued the Da Ming Bao Chao (Great Ming Treasure Notes) in the early Ming Dynasty, it would have completely ruined the status of paper money in the hearts of ordinary people.

Now he doesn't need to worry too much about financial issues, nor does he need to start with military scrip, gradually increasing the status of paper money and rebuilding credibility.

"However, since the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty more than two hundred years ago, the garrison system has long since become a mere formality."

“The military garrisons and military farms in various places are in disrepair. Many of the farms in the garrisons have been seized by powerful local families. Military households have no land to cultivate, but they still have to pay grain taxes. As a result, seven or eight out of ten military households have deserted. Vacancies are not filled and the registers are in chaos.”

"The local garrisons and military posts deceived their superiors and subordinates, still reporting the full amount of grain and salary, but in reality, the empty amount of grain and salary went into their own pockets. This is like sucking the blood of soldiers and eroding the foundation of the country!"

Chen Wang's tone grew increasingly somber.

“The training of the garrisons in various places, especially the inland garrisons, is lax. The officers of the garrisons are mostly hereditary and do not think about training the soldiers. They only know how to exploit them. The soldiers have become private servants. The weapons are rusted and broken. When there is a battle, they often collapse at the first contact.”

Chen Wang raised his voice.

"I do not deny the wisdom of the founding emperor, but times have changed. If we want to strengthen our military and our country, we must carry out reforms." Chen Wang paused briefly, waiting for the crowd's reaction.

The military officers inside the hall were all deathly pale. These hereditary military commanders, whose titles, lands, and private armies were all tied to the garrison system.

Now Chen Wang is about to uproot them with a single word, but no one dares to voice their opposition.

These meritorious military officials were constantly suppressed by civil officials after the Battle of Tumu.

At the current court assembly, even the civil officials dared not speak, so who among them would dare to step forward?

Chen Wang waited for a while, and seeing that no one jumped out, he continued.

"Therefore, I request that all the garrisons in the interior be abolished and replaced with recruited soldiers, selecting the strongest and most capable men to join the army, providing them with generous rations and pay, and rigorous training."

"The nine key border towns will retain their garrison system for the time being, but they also need to be strictly reorganized, vacancies eliminated, and military preparedness revitalized."

Emperor Longwu remained calm as his gaze slowly swept over the assembled officials, each with their own distinct expression, before finally settling on Chen Wang.

Looking at Chen Wang's figure, Emperor Longwu's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

The entire court, filled with high-ranking officials, was now overwhelmed by Chen Wang's presence.

The only one who dared to speak out in court, Ma Shiying, was only forced to stand up on Chen Wang's orders to pave the way for the new policy.

In Emperor Longwu's view, all of these decrees were the best policies for the country at that time.

However, implementing these good methods is extremely difficult.

In the world today, Chen Wang is the only person who can truly implement these reforms.

Without Chen Wang, even if he were the emperor and knew the merits of these policies, it would have been extremely difficult to implement them.

These decrees, I fear, would be met with criticism from the entire court as soon as they were proposed, and would certainly be impossible to implement.

Emperor Longwu sighed inwardly, though he had previously harbored some resentment.

After carefully reading Chen Wang's proposal for new policies, he realized the gap between himself and the Duke of Yan.

However, after Chen Wang submitted these decrees to him, Emperor Longwu realized just how much he was inferior to Chen Wang.

An emperor who holds significant military power is the true emperor.

An emperor without military power is nothing more than a puppet to be manipulated by others.

Over the years, it has been less that the Zhu family emperors ruled the country and more that the civil officials who held real power controlled the government.

Despite Emperor Wanli's many years of turmoil, the struggle over the succession to the throne was ultimately unresolved.

As the emperor, he couldn't even decide who to pass the throne to or who to appoint as the crown prince.

What kind of emperor is this?
What does it mean to hold a royal title or speak with imperial authority? He's nothing but a pitiful, helpless, and lonely man.

He fell into the water just like that, and he died of illness just like that.

"Your suggestion to abolish the local garrisons and replace them with a system of recruiting soldiers is indeed feasible. The garrison system has been in place for so long that it has become riddled with problems and should be abolished."

"However, after abolishing the garrison system and replacing it with conscription, how many military towns should be established throughout the country, and what methods should be used? Do you have a plan in mind, my dear minister?"

Chen Wang stood respectfully with his hands clasped, and answered Emperor Longwu's question in a calm and steady voice.

"Your Majesty is wise; I do indeed have a plan in mind."

Emperor Longwu slightly raised his hand, signaling Chen Wang to continue his statement.

Chen Wang bowed slightly and said solemnly.

"The country now has two capitals and fourteen provinces."

"In addition to the garrison of the capital, each of the two capitals should be guarded by three garrisons with a total of 180,000 troops to protect the capital region. The three provinces of Liaodong, Shaanxi and Shanxi are vast and important military strongholds, and should also be guarded by three garrisons with 100,000 troops in each."

"The three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan have rugged terrain and inconvenient transportation. Two towns should be established, with 80,000 troops stationed there, either in the north and south or in the east and west, to support each other."

"The remaining eight provinces only require one garrison to defend them, with 20,000 troops stationed there."

"The two capitals and fourteen provinces were divided into twenty-nine garrison towns, with a total of 1.06 million soldiers."

"In addition, the capital city was garrisoned by a separate army group, the Capital Garrison Army, with 160,000 troops, to control the entire country."

Emperor Longwu frowned slightly, then spoke.

"The combined military strength of 1.22 million men from across the land, the cost of which can be calculated by the Duke of Yan."

Chen Wang calmly responded.

"Currently, the monthly military pay for recruited soldiers is mostly around one tael, while the monthly military pay for border troops is one and a half taels. The military pay for the capital region army is based on that of border troops. Therefore, the monthly military pay should be 1.45 million taels, and the annual military pay should be 17.4 million taels. Including the annual salaries of officers at all levels, the annual military pay expenditure is over 20 million taels."

"With such a huge amount of military funds, not even including military equipment, how can the country maintain this now that the three taxes have been abolished?"

Emperor Longwu leaned forward slightly, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the imperial desk. The enormous military expenditures made him wonder how the country could possibly afford them.

He believed that the first three reforms concerning officialdom and taxation were insightful and worth implementing.

However, Emperor Longwu considered the last point regarding the reform of the military system to be quite inappropriate.

Now that the three taxes have been abolished, the expenditure on military expenses alone will amount to more than 20 million taels, resulting in a deficit of 5 million taels.

The country needs to function, the court needs to pay salaries, and local areas need to be maintained, all of which require money. This would amount to several million taels of silver a year. Chen Wang had previously mentioned issuing allowances for maintaining integrity, so the allowances should be distributed according to Chen Wang's instructions.

The Ming Dynasty had more than a thousand counties. The county magistrate alone, paid at a standard rate of two hundred taels of silver, would have spent more than two hundred thousand taels of silver. The prefectures above them would also have to pay an expense.

The entire imperial court has numerous officials of all ranks, and by any calculation, the extra salaries would exceed one million.

Not to mention that armed forces in various regions need to update their weaponry, including swords, spears, halberds, muskets, and cannons, which adds a lot of expenses.

No matter how much they try to save, the annual deficit will likely be in the tens of millions.

"Your Majesty can rest assured that everything here has been calculated and approved by my advisors."

Chen Wang bowed respectfully, his voice steady and firm, his gaze slightly lowered to avoid Emperor Longwu's probing look.

"Currently, the country only has a little over 500,000 soldiers. The reforms here will be carried out gradually, and military expenditures will not exceed ten million for the time being."

"Your subject has many other measures to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, which are sufficient to support the operation of the country."

Chen Wang had no intention of explaining.

During the reigns of Emperors Shunzhi and Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the population decreased significantly due to war, with a reduction of tens of millions compared to the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Even under such circumstances, they could still collect approximately 30 million taels of tax revenue annually.

This clearly demonstrates just how much money these gentry and officials had embezzled.

Moreover, this was before the implementation of measures such as requiring gentry to pay taxes together and the return of lost taxes to the public.

Many taxes in the Ming Dynasty were actually uncollectible, with commercial taxes being a prime example.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that one-thirtieth of all commercial taxes should be collected in order to restore people's livelihood.

At the same time, in order to show compassion for the people, it was stipulated that items for weddings, funerals, and sacrifices by soldiers and civilians, as well as boats, carts, silk, and cloth, should not be taxed.

Later, many more daily necessities were exempted from taxation.

In the early Ming Dynasty, commercial taxes were collected in a mere 200,000 taels per year.

The Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong of Ming contains a passage.

"Yunnan originally had no tea tax, but Yongping Prefecture had a tax office that collected 16 taels of silver annually. Recently, the office was ordered to conduct an inspection, and by imperial decree, I was temporarily retained for promotion."

The tea tax in a prefecture was only sixteen taels, which shows how low the tax burden was.

In reality, the official taxes in the Ming Dynasty were not high, but the various exorbitant taxes levied by local authorities were as numerous as the stars in the sky. Ordinary people without connections could only be exploited at every level, making it difficult for them to make a living.

Chen Wang also wants to collect tea tax and merchant tax.

For now, the maritime trade will be placed in Zheng Zhilong's hands.

Now that the navy is growing stronger, by next spring, when a dozen more warships will be launched, his arrangements with Zheng Zhilong will be almost complete.

If Zheng Zhilong is left to run wild, his days are numbered.

A rough estimate suggests that if all government orders were fully implemented, the revenue from maritime trade alone would amount to at least 40 million taels of silver per year.

Even if the annual expenditure is 30 million taels of silver, there can still be a surplus of 10 million taels.

Emperor Longwu narrowed his eyes, staring at Chen Wang's calm face, trying to glean some clues from that serene expression.

However, Chen Wang's expression remained calm and unchanged throughout, showing no sign of any problem.

Time passes little by little.

The Fengtian Hall remained silent.

I don't know how much time has passed.

Finally, Emperor Longwu spoke.

This signaled the end of what was destined to be an extraordinary court assembly.

"Granted." (End of Chapter)