Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian, who was far away in the capital, was naturally unaware of what was happening in the Americas.

At that time, he was busy with one thing: abolishing the Liaodong military tax.

This is something he has been saying since he ascended the throne, and now that Liaodong is pacified, he naturally has to fulfill his promise.

In his view, abolishing the Liaodong military tax and reducing the burden on the people was crucial to the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, he kept urging Han Kuang and Bi Ziyan to implement the budget system and see if the court's finances could be maintained after the Liaodong military tax was abolished.

After more than half a month of statistics, the Ministry of Revenue compiled the budgets submitted by various government departments and roughly calculated the required funds. Bi Ziyan then submitted a memorial to the emperor, stating:
"The biggest expenditure of the imperial court now is military spending."

"Because the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison have been constantly changing their uniforms and rebuilding their barracks, the reported budget is about two million."

"The nine border armies need more than six million taels of silver, and the imperial court will bear half of that, which is more than three million taels."

"The combined stipends of princes, nobles, and officials amount to approximately one million."

"These necessary expenditures, when added together, will require the imperial court to allocate six million."

"If the various government departments want to get things done, it would be safer to set aside seven million."

This was Bi Ziyan's estimate, which suggested that seven million taels of silver would barely be enough to cover the court's expenses.

The largest expenditure is military spending, accounting for more than 70%.

The main reason was that Zhu Youjian, apart from the gold and silver funds allocated for immigration, did not require the outer court to allocate funds to the inner court. He even drastically reduced the salaries of the imperial princes, forcing them to relocate.

However, his frugality had little impact on the imperial treasury. Bi Ziyan mentioned the largest expenditure—the Liaodong military expenses:
"Although the war in Liaodong has ended, the land has not been distributed yet, so we cannot stop paying wages all at once."

"The Liaodong military expenditure of more than five million taels of silver still cannot be reduced."

"The burden of paying these five million taels of silver entirely on the imperial court is too great. I believe that we can levy another one year next year and then cancel the Liaodong tax the year after."

This was Bi Ziyan's opinion, who believed that the imperial court still needed the Liaodong military pay, especially since the soldiers in Liaodong still needed to be paid.

He believed that it should be delayed for a year or two until the land distribution in Liaodong was completed, and then a portion of the army should be disbanded.

However, Zhu Youjian was impatient. He knew that for him as emperor, the key was his credibility among the people.

Delaying for a year may seem like a small matter, but it can cause you to lose a lot of prestige.

He asked Bi Ziyan:

How many people have registered to buy land in the Liaohetao region?

"Make them pay the money as soon as possible so they can choose their plots of land before next spring's planting season."

"The imperial court can get at least 20 million taels of revenue from this part. Isn't that enough to carry out next year's budget?"

Selling 10,000 square li of land to meritorious officials would generate 15 million in revenue. This entire amount would go to the Ministry of Revenue.

Of the next 10,000 square meters sold to wealthy households, half would also be managed by the Ministry of Revenue. It's estimated that at least 15 million units would be sold, and the profits couldn't be lower than the preferential treatment given to officials.

This adds up to at least 22 million taels of silver, which Zhu Youjian believed could easily sustain them for several years.

But Bi Ziyan complained:
"The money the court received must first be used to repay four million taels of war bonds, and then to reward the soldiers in Liaodong, which would require a total of six million taels."

"Adding the four million taels of military funds prepared for the Annam War, that brings the total to ten million taels spent."

"We have a tight budget of just over 12 million taels left for next year's expenses."

"If anything unexpected happens, there won't be any extra money."

They wanted to save more money to avoid any unexpected events.

But Zhu Youjian thought differently. He believed that money should be spent, and he forcibly ordered Bi Ziyan to do so:
"If we have money, we should spend it to enhance the strength of the imperial court."

"As long as the new army is here, how can we not collect taxes?"

"Chief Minister Han, you are in charge of implementing the unified tax system and the tax-sharing system. How much money will the court receive next year?"

Han Kuang had been busy with this matter recently, and knowing the reason why the emperor had retained him, he quickly replied upon hearing this:

“The provinces of Southern Zhili, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei are already implementing a single tax system.”

"Before next autumn's harvest, I guarantee that at least half of the southern regions will have implemented the single tax system. Based on the starting tax of 30 million, we can collect 15 million."

"If we choose to pay in silver, the market price is five to six cents per shi (a unit of dry measure), which is equivalent to eight or nine million taels of silver." "Other revenues such as salt tax and customs duties are estimated to amount to more than one million taels."

"Next year, the court's direct revenue will reach the equivalent of ten million taels of silver."

In his view, this was a huge improvement, much higher than the more than three million taels of silver he used to receive each year. Previously, the national land tax, when converted into silver, was only eleven million taels.

According to the Wanli Accounting Records, the national land tax, converted to silver, was approximately 1619 million taels, with 1109 million taels transported. The total revenue of the imperial court and local governments, converted to silver, was approximately 1810 million taels. This figure was lower during the Chongzhen era than at the beginning of the Wanli era.
Implementing a single tax system in half of the southern region would generate nearly the same amount of land tax revenue as the previous national total. This was considered a great achievement by Han Kuang, but Zhu Youjian found it rather meager.

In particular, the necessary expenditures next year could reach 12 million taels, and the imperial treasury will still be unable to make ends meet.

If we also consider the change of the tax system in Southern Zhili, which included the gold and silver taels, the outer court would need to allocate more than one million taels to the inner court, which would be another expense.

The combined shortfall of over three million led to a momentary urge to increase the proportion of shipments originating from the origin and to collect more local reserves.

However, considering that the local government needed funds to maintain operations, as well as to ensure stability, prevent and provide disaster relief, and reduce or exempt taxes for disaster victims, he abandoned the idea and said to Han Kuang:
"Mr. Han, you are the prime minister, you need to show some backbone."

"The imperial court has set a quota of 30 million shi for the southern provinces. Can't we collect 20 million shi next year?"

"You should have the governors and viceroys of each province convene a meeting to come up with a plan, and make sure that the single tax system is implemented."

"Which province, no, which prefecture or county implemented the unified tax system and abolished the Liaodong tax?"

"Otherwise, continue collecting taxes and explain the reasons to the public."

The abolition of the Liaodong tax was linked to the implementation of the unified tax system, effectively incorporating them into the process.

As long as officials don't want to be branded as tyrannical and oppressive, they will find ways to implement the single-tax system.

Otherwise, they would be oppressing and harming the people, and they would be incompetent officials.

To demonstrate his benevolence, Zhu Youjian decided to publicize the matter extensively, striving to ensure that all the people knew that the Liaodong tax had been abolished.

Furthermore, legislation advocating for tax resistance should be vigorously promoted. In areas where the tax burden exceeds one-tenth, encourage residents to petition against it.

This is a constraint he imposed on local officials to prevent unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of the system when implementing a single tax system, thereby increasing the burden on the people.

Meanwhile, in order to prevent popular uprisings from becoming uncontrollable in local areas, Zhu Youjian decided to dispatch a new army to be stationed throughout the country.
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The Privy Council had been planning this for some time, and they reorganized the armies in various regions based on their experience in the Liaodong campaign.

In this plan, the most elite standard battalions will be responsible for field operations in each province. Each battalion will consist of three to six thousand men, or even a brigade, depending on the needs. They will be able to mobilize and conscript troops from garrison areas throughout the province, except for specially established garrison districts.

The level of a garrison district is slightly higher than that of a defense district, roughly equivalent to the former military circuit, responsible for guarding key locations.

Unlike a garrison district, which is generally responsible for the defense of one prefecture, a military district is responsible for the defense of several prefectures. Each province must have at least one such district, each solely responsible for its local defense.

Troops in the garrison area are not allowed to leave without authorization, unless they receive a transfer order from the Privy Council.

The governor-general's troops were not allowed to enter the garrison area without permission.

No matter which side rebels, there will be another force to deal with it.

The appointment of officers in the garrison area was also directly under the Ministry of War and not under the jurisdiction of the local Protectorate. The imperial court would dispatch officers from the capital garrison to lead troops there and command the local army.

Garrison districts were established in key locations such as Daming Prefecture, Luoyang Prefecture, Hanzhong Prefecture, Xiangyang Prefecture, and Chongqing Prefecture. They were also established in areas with many local chieftains.

Zhu Youjian was generally satisfied with the reorganization plan, especially the control of key locations to prevent internal strife, which he considered very necessary.

The disaster situation in the north is getting worse and worse. Even though he has been emigrating, there is no guarantee that some major disaster will not occur. With local officials acting recklessly, some people may rise up in rebellion.

It is essential to control key locations and divide the region to prevent civil unrest from escalating.

He even planned to send a squadron of new troops to each prefecture in the north, and to send troops to defeat any bandits with more than a hundred men, so as not to give them the opportunity to recruit people and grow stronger.

After resolving the threat from the Jurchens in Liaodong, Zhu Youjian turned his attention entirely inward, deciding to utilize the newly formed army, which had proven its combat effectiveness, to reorganize the entire military system of the Ming Dynasty and strengthen control over the local areas.

In the northern regions where unrest is rampant, a large-scale bandit suppression campaign will be launched. Various localities will cooperate to wipe out bandits with numbers exceeding one hundred.

This undertaking clearly required funding from the imperial court; it couldn't be entirely borne by the local authorities. Bi Ziyan, who had previously been overjoyed at receiving this unexpected windfall, once again looked worried and distressed.

More than 12 million taels of silver were clearly not enough to cover the expenses.

He only hoped that the land in the Liaohetao region could be sold for more money, and that the Ministry of Revenue could share more of the profits.

At the same time, in coordination with Han Kuang, a single tax system was implemented in local areas. (End of Chapter)