I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 483: The Clan and the Inner Court (End of this volume)
Zhu Youxiao couldn't help feeling angry when he thought of this.

The clan clan in the Ming Dynasty was a very large and complex issue.

Even though it was beneficial to Ming Dynasty's rule when it was first established, it now seems that the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits.The most important disadvantage is that it costs too much and is not beneficial to the country.

It’s not that the Ming court didn’t realize this. It had also carried out clan reforms in the past.

For example, during the Jiajing period, clan salaries were significantly reduced, causing great complaints from the clan.

Of course, the one who cared most about this matter was his stingy grandfather, Emperor Wanli.

Because the expenses of the vassal vassal were too high, in the 18th year of Wanli, the Ministry of Rites drafted a reform plan for the vassal vassal in accordance with the request of Emperor Wanli. The most important one was to convert the Lumi (or Luyin) of the previous vassal vassal into ) to a fixed-amount salary payment.

However, although Emperor Wanli fixed the salary quota for each clan, this was only a nominal quota, and the actual expenditure did not decrease.

As the clan's population increased, the court's expenses also increased, and now it has risen to about 1508 million taels.

Although this cost is large, it is not what Zhu Youxiao cares about most.Because this is only money on the surface and may not reach the hands of the clan.

In the process of disbursing this money to local officials, it can be delayed as long as possible, and it is owed as much as possible. Now Zhu Youxiao can still receive many testimonials from the princes of the clan, crying that he has not had a salary for several years.

What Zhu Youxiao cares most about is that in addition to their salaries, many clan princes rely on their clan status to operate with local privileges and dominate.

For example, vassal kings would seize, petition, and donate land. Over time, the large vassal kings would have tens of thousands of hectares of land at least, or hundreds of thousands of hectares of land at most.

Although these lands also have to pay taxes, they do not need to perform servitude. As a result, all local taxes and servitude are shared by the remaining civilian land, which is miserable.

There are also some clan princes who feel that they have no money or do not want to spend their own money, so they borrow local finances at will.Spending local government money in different ways has left local finances empty.They also used their privileges to sell salt, sell private salt, or purchase merchant property without paying taxes, and buy and sell by force.

What's more, many clan members took advantage of their status to dominate the territories and cities under their jurisdiction and robbed the children of their loved ones.

They may extort military and civilian property by extortion, or they may collect interest money, rob people of their interests, and kill ordinary people.Or they may associate with scoundrels, go hunting, and fish, but the local government dare not take charge of it, and the soldiers and civilians dare not express their anger.

If only a few do this, then Zhu Youxiao will tolerate it.However, the entire Ming Dynasty clan had too many people, and the quantitative changes had reached the level of qualitative changes.Therefore, the clan system has many disadvantages and has reached the point where it cannot be improved without reform.

Every time he thought of this, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The imperial court was really like paper windows, with air leaking everywhere.

He is not only a framer, but also a construction worker. Not only does he have to fix the windows, but he also has to rebuild the entire house.

Although he was grumbling in his heart, Zhu Youxiao was determined to reform the sectarian system.

It's just that he can't end this matter personally, it requires a suitable opportunity and the right people.

Wei Zhongxian, Wang Boyu and others who were kneeling felt uneasy when they saw the emperor holding the title book in silence for a long time.I thought the emperor was angry when he saw the contents of the internal money account.

"Your Majesty, this account book is a simple calculation made by the Supervisor of Ceremonies. I'm afraid there are some omissions in it. If your Majesty has any questions about the contents, you can ask your servant. I will tell you everything I know."

Wei Zhongxian's words interrupted Zhu Youxiao's thinking. He turned around and looked at the three directors and supervisors.

I also remembered that not only the sect had too many expenses and shortcomings and needed to be reformed, but the inner court was also similar. It also cost a lot in terms of personnel and expenses and also needed to be reformed.

However, unlike the vassal reform, the inner court's rectification and reform had already begun.

Thinking of this, he looked at Wei Zhongxian and Wang Boyu and asked with interest:
"Wei Zhongxian, there was serious corruption in the palace before. You applied for a strict inspection of the warehousing and current account books in the palace and the inner treasury, and also counted the treasury balance. I asked you and Wang Boyu to investigate. I wonder how the investigation is going now? "Wei Zhongxian did not expect that the emperor would ask him this matter. When he saw this, he turned back to look at Wang Boyu.

After the emperor appointed Admiral Wang Boyu to supervise Dongchang last time, their already unharmonious relationship became even worse.

Especially this time when Wang Boyu checked the palace account books with him, although he claimed to be assisting, he was actually monitoring.It all depends on whether he made any omissions, but by doing this, Wang Boyu just left evidence for his actions.

"Your Majesty clearly knows that the account books between the palace and the internal treasury are complicated, and it is time-consuming and laborious for slaves to count and check them. However, I have discovered some clues so far. Eunuch Wang can prove this, but if you want to find out clearly, it will take more time. Please give me some more time, Your Majesty."

"What Eunuch Wei said is that statistics and verification of account books are indeed a bit complicated, and it may take some time."

After Wei Zhongxian finished speaking, Wang Boyu also echoed behind him.

Zhu Youxiao also knew that a thorough investigation of the palace was very troublesome and involved a lot. It would probably be over in half a day and a month. Now that he saw Wei Zhongxian in action, he felt relieved.

"Well, I also want to ask about this matter. You two should do it slowly and carefully, and let me know when you have the results."

Seeing the emperor's promise, Wei Zhongxian was determined and immediately bowed his head in agreement.

After counting the amount of money in the internal funds, Zhu Youxiao no longer had the intention to continue reading the account books. He immediately put the account books away and lay down on the couch to rest.

At the same time, he slowly thought about the results of today's discussion in his mind. He was very satisfied with the results of the first year of Tianqi. Whether it was the implementation of the New Deal, counterinsurgency or taxation, he had satisfactory results.

Although he knew that there would be a more difficult road to go in the future, at this moment, like a child who got high marks in the final exam, he felt unprecedentedly happy and relaxed, and fell asleep as he lay down.

In the next few days, the atmosphere of celebrating the New Year in the palace became more and more intense. The palace family members and eunuchs began to wear gourd jingbuzi and python robes. The palace set off fireworks in front of Qianqing Palace every day to celebrate.

Aoshan lanterns and fireworks will also be installed in the palace at night.This activity is Zhu Youjian and Zhu Huijing's favorite.Every day I drag Zhu Youxiao and the others to see it, and with Zhang Yan and the others this year, the palace is even more lively.

As the emperor, Zhu Youxiao was not idle. He first went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Shimiao Temple to hold grand worship services and report his achievements for the year to the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty.At the same time, an order was also issued to allow relatives to pay homage to the various imperial tombs in Changping again.

Although these things seemed very busy, being busy in the festive atmosphere of the New Year also made Zhu Youxiao feel the long-lost New Year atmosphere, and he also enjoyed it.

So in this joy and busyness, the first year of Tianqi passed.

(End of this volume)
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(The following bytes are free of charge)

The fourth volume is finally over. This volume is mainly about solving the She'an Rebellion and Korea, and laying out the layout of Liaodong.Judging from the current results, I am still a little dissatisfied.

Maybe it’s because too many things happened in the first year of Apocalypse in history. I spent too much pen and ink in this year. At the same time, I found that my writing rhythm was slow, and of course I also had problems such as poor writing. I also ask all readers, Master Haihan. , and further corrections will be made in the future.

But no matter what, for Zhu Youxiao, the big domestic problem (rebellion) has been initially resolved, and it can be said that the curtain of reform and conquest has begun.

Later, Zhu Youxiao could concentrate on internal reforms, deal with the Jianlu and Westerners externally, further integrate into the world, participate in the general trend of the world, and expand territory.

Dear viewers, if you have any good suggestions or opinions, you can point them out in the comments. I will read every comment on this book carefully.

Also, today is the [-]st. He Xia is begging everyone for a monthly pass. Thank you.

(End of this chapter)