I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 264 Abolition of Craftsmanship
Everyone was overjoyed when they saw that Zhu Youxiao could agree so easily.

"Your Majesty is wise, and I will do my best to get this matter done."

"Industry and commerce are inherently beneficial to the country, so the court should naturally pay more attention to them and not despise them. This is true for merchants and craftsmen."

Ye Xianggao's words also made Zhu Youxiao think differently. Protecting industry and commerce seemed to him a normal behavior, so in his thinking, this awareness did not need to be emphasized at all.

But the words of Ye Xianggao, Zhao Nanxing and others made him suddenly realize that even though industry and commerce were particularly developed in the Ming Dynasty and commerce was already connected to the world market, due to traditional Chinese concepts, no matter how wealthy a businessman was, his status would still be very low. Officials and gentry bully, this is true for merchants, and even more so for craftsmen.

The Wanli Dynasty sent mining tax eunuchs to make money wantonly. These eunuchs and corrupt officials were already as greedy for money as their lives.When I arrived at the place, I saw that the big officials and gentry could not be offended, so they naturally bullied the weak groups such as workshops and merchants.As a result, merchants were treated as if they were worthless and exploited without restraint, causing public dissatisfaction and causing everyone in the world to oppose it.

Zhu Youxiao despised Wanli's gangster-like way of making money. How could the emperor send someone to rob it openly?This method also brought a stress sequelae to the people of the world, that is, they were very afraid of the emperor's chaos, which invisibly increased Zhu Youxiao's pressure.

Therefore, it is natural to take this opportunity to support industry and commerce, and merchants are already determined to protect it.

The next one is the craftsman. Regarding craftsmen, Zhu Youxiao knew that there was a very famous system in the Ming Dynasty, which was the craftsmanship system.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao then turned his attention to Xu Guangqi, Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

"I said before that industry and commerce are equally important, but what you just said was to protect merchants, but what about craftsmen? Xu Guangqi, you have been working in the Ministry of Industry for more than half a year, and now you are in charge of the Ministry of Industry. Do you know how our government currently uses and The one who manages the craftsmen?”

Xu Guangqi, who had been silent until he heard the words, also stood up. He was originally from Jiangnan and his family had quite a lot of property, so he agreed with Ye Xianggao and others. The imperial court could impose taxes, but it could not bully the overbearing merchants and common people.

It's just that he had been thinking deeply about the past, so Kong Er didn't react. Now seeing the emperor suddenly asking questions, he put away his thoughts and stood up to answer:

"In our dynasty, the registration system was based on industry, and the ordinary households were divided into three categories: Japanese people, Japanese soldiers, and Japanese craftsmen. Among them, the military, craftsmen, and kitchen households were always filled with servants. Among them, the craftsman households can be roughly divided into two categories: shift-based and residential.

Among them, the shift craftsmen are under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, with a three-year shift, and they go to Beijing for three months.The working class is managed by the local government and the imperial court's exclusive agencies such as the Ordnance Bureau, and the work period lasts for ten days every month. "

Xu Guangqi made it clear in two sentences the use and management of craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty. That is, the craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty were in a hereditary system and could not change careers.

Moreover, shift craftsmen had to work for the court for free for three months every three years, and craftsmen who worked on shifts were even worse, having to work for the court for free for ten days every month.

This system is extremely inhumane, which also led to many craftsmen not wanting to work for the court for free. Fortunately, they did not come to work, but the court also had ways to deal with it.

"It's just that the shift craftsmen go to the capital every three years for a shift. Although the time for corvee service is only three months, if the distance is far away, the shift craftsmen travel back and forth for three to four months, so each shift requires six or seven months to return home. , so in the past, craftsmen were running around, their money was exhausted, and many people escaped.

Therefore, during the Chenghua period, in order to solve this problem, the Ministry of Industry stipulated that as long as shift craftsmen were willing to pay nine silver coins per month, they were exempted from going to Beijing. Those who were unwilling would still work.However, craftsmen who work on duty have to work on duty and cannot use silver as a substitute for labor. "

After Zhu Youxiao heard his explanation, he understood that under this system, the shift craftsmen were okay, at least they could spend money to do corvee work, but the on-shift craftsmen were miserable, as they worked for the court for free every day.

"So there are basically no shift craftsmen now, right? How much money can the Ministry of Industry charge for craftsmen's shifts each year?"

Xu Guangqi thought for a moment and then responded:
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Industry only has more than 2 taels of silver for craftsmen's shifts each year. Now that the years have passed, many shift craftsmen have either lost their registration or fled, so it is more troublesome to collect it."

"As for the servants, the court has to pay them to use them. If this happens in the past, they will also escape."

Zhu Youxiao's question hit the mark, and this is what Xu Guangqi wanted to say.

"Your Majesty, the craftsmen who work as corvees are not paid any money at all. They actually work for free, and they are also responsible for many of the tools and materials used by the court. Even if they run workshops, the court can buy them at low prices as long as they need it. The quality must be the best, otherwise you will be punished.

In addition, these working craftsmen were also miserable in the past. In addition, this system has not changed for a long time, and many craftsmen's households had no heirs and therefore closed down.Take the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Industry as an example. After merging with the Firearms Department of the Imperial War Bureau, according to accounting statistics, the original quota of firearms, gunpowder, and gunsmiths was 1.However, there are currently only 46 people who can still enlist. The rest are either homeless or have escaped, leaving a full two-thirds of the vacancies. Even those who are enlisted are not motivated enough and are unwilling to contribute without incentives. At present, The Ordnance Bureau cannot produce at full capacity. The lack of craftsmen and their low motivation is a big problem. "

Xu Guangqi poured bitter tears for a while, and Zhu Youxiao had no choice but to nod his head. He thought to himself, that's it. You want the horse to run fast, but you don't want the horse to eat grass. How can there be such a reason? You should also give some encouragement.

When Xu Guangqi said this, everyone's chatter was instantly opened. Immediately afterwards, Zhu Guozhen, the assistant cabinet minister, also stood up and said:
"Your Majesty, what Xu Shangshu said does make sense. Nowadays, government agencies tend to use craftsmen like slaves. Even when purchasing office objects, it is the same. They do not buy them at a fair price. They rely on the status of the government and require merchants to sell them to the county government for free or at low prices. , if they don't agree, they will make things difficult in every possible way, causing the merchants to take this matter as a corvee, and they will be very troubled by it.

Therefore, I boldly suggest that industry and commerce are all His Majesty's subjects, and the imperial court must not be biased because they are all sympathetic.The cabinet can issue an edict, stipulating that prefectures and county offices must provide cash at the current price for daily supply, and they must buy and sell with the people. They must not rely on officials to reduce prices, nor can they arbitrarily lose credit, and must connive at compradors to ask for shop money. things. "

Seeing what Zhu Guozhen said, Zhao Nanxing instantly understood that now was an excellent opportunity to facilitate this matter, so he stood up and said:
"I agree that this may seem like a small favor from the imperial court, but it is actually of great benefit to industry and commerce. If it can be successfully implemented, it will definitely restore the confidence of industry and commerce and show your majesty's closeness and love for the people. The common people's industry and commerce will be grateful and repay your majesty."

Upon seeing this, Liu Yishui, Ye Xianggao, Sun Chengzong and others also stood up to support, and everyone seemed determined to accomplish this.

Looking at the crowd vying to get excited, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that there were so many trivial things like this that exploited the people, and Ye Xianggao and others were deeply aware of its disadvantages, so they were so excited and persistent.

He waved his hand and asked them all to sit down and not to lose their composure. Seeing the emperor's behavior, Zhu Guozhen and others could only hold back their emotions and sit down again to wait for the emperor's words.

"I can understand your feelings. I think this is completely feasible. When the cabinet agrees on the industrial and commercial regulations, this article can be drafted and implemented nationwide."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

When everyone saw that the emperor agreed, they were overjoyed and stood up to congratulate the emperor.

But Zhu Youxiao shook his head when he saw this. The matter could not end like this. If the shackles of craftsmen were to be completely solved, the issue of craftsman status must be solved. He remembered that in history, the Qing army canceled all craftsman status after entering the customs.

In this case, there is absolutely no need for him to delay until now. He can abolish this system now.

"The craftsmanship system has been in use since the establishment of the Great Patriarch. Although it was very effective at the beginning, it has accumulated many disadvantages to this day. It is not only useless to the court, but also hinders the efficiency of the court's affairs as Xu Aiqing said.

In my opinion, it is better to abolish the craftsman registration system. All craftsmen do not need to be succeeded by father after death, and they do not need to be registered as craftsmen after learning a craft. In the future, the court can recruit craftsmen and pay them wages, which will greatly increase their enthusiasm. "

Abolish craftsmanship?

As soon as Zhu Youxiao said this, everyone screamed in shock, and Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, immediately stood up to object.

"Your Majesty, this is an ancestral system. How can it be changed? It must not be abolished easily. This matter needs to be considered in the long term. If the craftsmanship status is abolished, what about the military status? Should it be abolished as well? Once this talk is opened, people in the court will definitely be shaken. There is a big disadvantage, Your Majesty."

Wang Yingjiao, the Minister of Household Affairs, also had concerns after hearing this.

"Your Majesty, it is indeed unfavorable to the imperial court now. Although the imperial court has a modest surplus in revenue and expenditure, if the craftsmen's certificate is abolished, wouldn't it mean that the craftsmen's class will have so little silver? If they say that craftsmen will be used to pay wages in the future, I'm afraid the imperial court will need more. It’s a cost.”

Wang Yingjiao's words immediately made Zhao Nanxing unhappy. In his opinion, this was great good governance. How could it be so necessary?
"Wang Shangshu cares too much about gains and losses. The craftsmanship certificate is in name only, and the craftsmen's class only has more than 2 taels of silver per year. How much money can this have? Besides, once the craftsmanship certificate is abolished, if the imperial court hires these craftsmen, it will not cost much. There will be a lot, but it will make these craftsmen more motivated, so why not do it.”

As soon as these words came out, Sun Chengzong and others nodded. More than 2 taels of silver for a craftsman's class is indeed not much. Compared with the reputation gained by the imperial court by abolishing the craftsmanship certificate, it is a huge profit. Why not do it.

So Liu Yishui, Sun Chengzong and others also spoke in favor of the abolition.

Zhu Youxiao knew that there would definitely be people who would stand up to oppose, but he laughed at the stupidity of these opponents. Historically, the right to speak only belonged to the strong and the majority. Furthermore, he had already made up his mind to take this opportunity to finalize the matter. .

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(End of this chapter)