Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 198: Huge dividends will follow bad governance!

The hall was dead silent.

Xia Zhibai's voice echoed in the hall.

He did not deny that Zhu Yuanzhang's system had many merits.

But all this must be based on feasibility.

Of course, under Zhu Yuanzhang's powerful rule, his system could operate normally, but this normality was actually abnormal, just as after the Song Dynasty took away local financial power, there was indeed no "Anshi Rebellion" in the local areas.

But at the same time, this also led to local officials becoming tax collectors of the court, and also made local governance fiscal expenditures out of touch. After seeking expenditures from the court to no avail, they either had to collect other taxes from the people, or they had to start a war.

normal circumstances.

It is the job of local officials to cultivate tax sources.

But under the current world system, because it is a small government, it is short of staff and finances. In this situation, they have to rely on adding more taxes to the big households to govern the local area. Many of the local powerful landowners have connections with local officials. Over time, the taxes originally imposed by the court on these big households have fallen on the heads of the common people.

The Ming Dynasty had no plan for its fiscal budget, and usually allocated additional funds based on last year's expenditures. Once natural disasters or man-made disasters occurred, the court often had no money to spend.

We can only add more.

The financial collapse of the Ming Dynasty was actually doomed long ago.

The imperial court took over all the finances of the world, so it should be responsible for everything in the world. Otherwise, what is the use of the imperial court?
In today's social framework, some things cannot be cut to save money. The small government promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang throughout the country seemed to save a lot of expenses, but there were only four or five officials in a county, and it was simply a pipe dream to rely on these four or five officials to rule the place.

Eventually power had to be decentralized.

Because these officials had no financial authority, they could not accomplish anything and in the end they could only become tax collectors of the court.

As for the rest, just don't go wrong.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xia Zhibai with dark eyes, which were filled with murderous intent.

His chest was rising and falling vigorously.

Xia Zhibai's words exposed some false truths.

The Ming Dynasty was just whitewashing the situation.

As for the case of the empty seal, everyone knew the problem. If the roads could be unobstructed and they could be given more time, the case of the empty seal would be solved. However, building roads requires money. Giving local officials more time would delay the statistics of the Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court. This delay would cause many political affairs of the Ministry of Revenue to be postponed again and again.

Who bears this responsibility?
No one dares.

The Guo Huan case involves so many people.

There are so many charges and so many harsh taxes, but has the court ever really thought about abolishing them?
No.

These taxes are just changed in name and continue to be collected.

Because of the Ming Dynasty's low tax system, not much money could be collected. However, the Ming Dynasty had to fight wars, build large-scale projects, reward meritorious officials, and pay officials' salaries, military supplies, school education, and support for princes, all of which required huge financial expenditures. This money was simply not enough to be collected through normal taxation.

We can only notify the local officials and let them do it.

The so-called exorbitant taxes and levies were, to a large extent, forced upon us by the imperial court.

But no one will admit it.

Once the people were dissatisfied, they would kill people to vent their anger. What the people liked to see most was the court killing corrupt officials, but the court would not return a penny.

The framework of the Ming Dynasty was to abuse the people under the pretext of loving them.

Xia Zhibai cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has indeed read more books than I, but after reading so much, Your Majesty has only read about the responsibilities that he should shoulder, but has forgotten about the corresponding obligations that he should assume. Anyone who understands the world knows that there must be huge dividends under bad governance."

"Otherwise, this policy would not have been implemented for so long."

"Your Majesty's ban on sea transportation, your Majesty's small government, your Majesty's quota production system, etc., these policies, when they fall on the people, can be regarded as bad policies, but they have been able to operate normally because they have huge dividends."

“This is the corruption of power!”

"If Your Majesty does not want the court to bear so much responsibility, then you should follow the system and give up the benefits that come with the burden."

"Just looking at the accounts, the court has indeed reduced a lot of burdens."

"But has the court really settled the accounts behind the scenes?"

"Governing the country has never been a matter of following a script. Since the Warring States period, the country has been able to register and equalize the people."

"This system as a whole is a farming and warfare system managed vertically by the central government, but this system collapsed at the end of the Han Dynasty."

"The imperial court, which was established from the Confucian archives of the Wei and Jin dynasties, largely gave up the ability and awareness of grassroots management and could only rely on grassroots self-government to turn local management into a 'family craft'. In the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi's Baojia system was the last attempt to rebuild grassroots management."

“It just failed.”

"As for the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty."

"To a certain extent, it can be said that 'imperial power does not extend below the county level'."

"Your Majesty's officials call the people unruly and untouchable. They should know that more officials are needed to govern such a group of people. However, there are only four or five official officials in a county of the Ming Dynasty, and they also have to shoulder the political tasks assigned by the court from time to time. Who can do this?"

"Most of the local governance power falls to local clerks."

"The Ming court is too high."

"It's so high that people can't see it. Nowadays, the provincial governments, prefectures and counties all over the country have no power to promote local infrastructure construction. For example, the water conservancy construction, road improvement, education and culture, which the court is most concerned about, the local governments have no ability and power at all. They can only rely on the court."

"And the court was short of money, so it could only allow corruption to happen." "Once the court became corrupt, the northern barbarians would move south, and the court would be unable to organize any forces to resist or defend itself."

"Your Majesty wants to grab everything, wants everything, but in the end, he gets nothing."

"The Ming Dynasty currently has problems in politics, military, education, economy, diplomacy, and other aspects. The root of the problem lies in your Majesty's self-righteousness. Your Majesty thinks too highly of yourself and the world. This world cannot achieve the ideal state that your Majesty wants to achieve."

"Not now, and not in the future."

"and"

"Your Majesty cannot deprive them of their right to pursue a better life!"

“No one likes to be kept in captivity.”

The anger in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes gradually dissipated.

The people were completely silent.

Xia Zhibai looked calm and continued, "As for why I said that it was His Majesty who ordered this, it was because everything I proposed was indeed facilitated by His Majesty, but His Majesty may not have done it on purpose, or even had no such idea at all."

"But it does have something to do with His Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

He didn't speak in a hurry, waiting for Xia Zhibai to explain.

Xia Zhibai said: "When the Jingdu Salt Industry was established, there was a lot of resistance from the court, but why were so many salt companies built in the Jiangnan region in less than a year?"

“Where has the resistance from the court and the localities gone?”

"The answer is simple."

"died!"

"The Ming Dynasty implemented a small government."

"Officials are conservative and resist new things. If the Ming Dynasty was a big government, it would take a lot of time and effort to promote salt enterprises in Jiangnan, and they would most likely be stopped. But because it is a small government, your Majesty has killed so many people that these possible opposition voices have disappeared."

"The new officials are more vigorous and motivated."

"Under the old power system, they could not profit from it, and it was difficult for them to gain an advantage from the old system, so it was beneficial for them to break the existing pattern. Using steam to make salt became the key to breaking the old profit pattern, and local salt enterprises in Jiangnan were able to be established so quickly."

"So the great changes in the Jiangnan region can be mainly attributed to your Majesty's promotion."

"Although His Majesty has no such intention."

"Your Majesty's idea is that you see that steam engines can save manpower, and the Ming Dynasty is short of people. The corvée labor in the world is getting heavier and heavier. You want to use these tools to free up some manpower so that the increasingly heavy corvée labor can be shared by the world."

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.

This is indeed what he really thinks.

But what Xia Zhibai said does make some sense.

If he hadn't killed him, I'm afraid the Jiangnan region would never have introduced the "steam engine".

To a certain extent, it was indeed myself who helped Xia Zhibai achieve his goal.

Xia Zhibai added: "As for opening the sea, if the government does not occupy it, others will occupy it. The sea route is too convenient for trade, it can save too much manpower and time. If the court does not occupy it, it will definitely be handed over to others, and the court cannot ban it completely."

"Especially the people living along the coast, they rely on fishing for a living. If the sea is closed, how will they make a living?"

"Your Majesty is driving them towards the pirates."

"It's better to block than to open up."

"When the benefits are great enough, local governments will spontaneously fight against the Japanese pirates."

"Besides."

"The post station is indeed a very important part of the Ming Dynasty."

"But the post stations nowadays have too much military connotations and can easily be coerced into wartime policies. Once they become too big to be eliminated, they will become a huge burden for the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty does not need so many postmen. The Ming Dynasty cannot go to war every few years. Eventually, these post stations will become a huge burden for the Ming Dynasty."

“Once we can really employ a million canal workers.”

"The Ming Dynasty can't solve it at all."

"Therefore, opening up sea transportation is also a planned way to reduce the number of postmen, so that they are always under the control of the court. In addition, promoting the separation of military and civilians in the north will also help to digest the burden of supporting the court in the future."

"The current financial policy of the Ming Dynasty is destined to implement a lean and simple government."

"After the north is pacified, the number of military households and postmen will definitely be reduced. Otherwise, such a large number of military households and postmen will consume millions of shi of money and grain every year. Once there is a major natural disaster or man-made disaster, the Ming Dynasty's finances will be insufficient, which will cause these military households and postmen to complain."

"Military households and postmen are not ordinary people."

"Many of them are young and strong, and when they really can't survive, there are so many things they can do."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes turned cold.

But it was soon hidden.

He grasped the jade ruyi tightly with his palm, his eyes becoming more and more profound and solemn.

(End of this chapter)