I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 143: Master Zhang, why not be bolder!
Zhu Yijun picked up the teacup, drank two sips of warm tea to moisten his throat, and slowly replied: "Mr. Dazhou, Zhuangpengyin is the combined name of Zhuangtouyin and Pengyin.

Zhuangtou silver refers to the silver that the local army needs to pay to the Imperial Household Department if their war horses die abnormally or get lost or stolen; Pengyin refers to the silver that the local army needs to pay to the Imperial Household Department regularly, which is similar to the insurance premium of our marine insurance company.

When Zhu Yijun was reading these documents, he had never imagined that the Ming Dynasty would have such a bold move, requiring the government troops to pay money to the Imperial Household Department to buy insurance for their war horses.

"This money was kept in the Imperial Household Department. If a war horse in the government army got lost or died abnormally, the horse owner could apply to the Imperial Household Department for a subsidy to buy a horse.

One is the compensation and the other is the insurance premium, but both come from the official army cavalry and are used to subsidize war horses for horse owners whose horses died abnormally or were lost, so they are collectively called the Zhuangpengyin system.

Everyone was a little surprised that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had such a clear understanding of these military and political affairs.

There are rumors outside that the Crown Prince is just wasting his time in the Xi'anmen School and is uneducated and unskilled.

Haha, why does the prince study those sour Confucian knowledge? To take the imperial examination?
The Crown Prince was gifted, intelligent, and studious. He spent most of his time and energy studying the military and politics of the Ming Dynasty!

That is what a wise monarch should do.

Zhao Zhenji was silent for a while, then raised his head and asked, "The government troops are fed with food and paid with salaries, so where do they get the money to pay the taxes?"

Zhu Yijun smiled, "This is the contradiction. The government troops are fed with food and wages. In addition to the salary, there is also money for horse fodder and their own weapons and armor. When Master Zhang and Master Pan patrolled the border, they also found that the border troops had to pay for meals.

They risk their lives to guard the border for the country, and they have to bring their own food. If their weapons are broken, they have to pay for their own repairs. It is very difficult for such officers and soldiers to protect the country and the people. How can they talk about recreating the martial arts of the Han and Tang dynasties? "

Li Zhi could not help but say, "Your Highness, I think the root cause is that the border troops are under the jurisdiction of the military commander, while the food and wages are paid by the local Ministry of Revenue. There are many corrupt officials and opportunists in various places, and they will definitely find ways to seek personal gain. They will control the food and wages and make things difficult for the border troops.

The border troops can no longer bear the hardship, so they have to find ways to make a living and earn money. "

Zhu Yijun drank two sips of tea, stood up, put his hands in his sleeves, walked slowly to the map on the wall, and said slowly: "I also know what Mr. Zhuo Wu said. But the army cannot raise its own food and wages, this is an iron rule. Otherwise, the feudal lords in the late Tang Dynasty are a precedent."

Xu Wei glanced at Li Zhi.

This guy is indeed talented, but he is too radical.

Since the Crown Prince is using his sharpness, I have to work on being cautious and steady.

"Zhuo Wu, at that time, the Crown Prince was ordered by the Emperor to take over the affairs of suppressing the Japanese in the southeast. The land and sea suppression, military training, military strategy, and deployment of troops were all entrusted to Hu Bu Tang. Only the food and salary were firmly controlled by the Coordination Office. All the support was in the hands of the Southeast Office and Eunuch Yang."

Li Zhi knew that Xu Wei was kindly reminding him, so he bowed to him and expressed his gratitude, "Mr. Wenchang's reminder is very good. Your Highness, in my opinion, the lower levels can be separated, military affairs and food and salaries together, but the upper levels must be gathered together in one place, such as the Supervision Office.

Now, border affairs and military operations are all controlled by the governors and governors-general. All governors and governors-general in the world are under the control of the Supervisory Office. We can take this opportunity to set rules. At least, we need to find a way out. "

Zhu Yijun turned around and looked at Li Zhi, praising him: "Mr. Zhuo Wu is right. A strong country and a rich people depend on financial management. The key to financial management is to establish a sound financial and taxation system. How the country collects money and how it spends money must be clear, and it cannot be a muddled account.

A muddled account will only bring loss to the Ming Dynasty, hardship to the people, but enrich those rats. Mr. Zhuo Wu, you are right. We can take this opportunity to establish a system of government and military expenditures, starting from the nine frontiers.

Border affairs, well, let's call it national defense for now. It does cost money, but we have to know clearly where and how to spend it.

Mr. Zhuo Wu, please help me. Well, we will set up a National Defense Expenditure Regulation Section under the name of the Supervision Office. We will start with the nine frontiers and conduct trials in each town to find out a national defense expenditure regulation. Once it is well explored, it can be applied to other areas. "

national defense?

Well, the prince likes to come up with new words, and everyone is used to it.

Li Zhi certainly did not give in and bowed his hands and said, "I obey your command!"

Zhu Yijun saw that Nangong Ye had almost finished organizing the content, so he turned around and asked, "The items we discussed should be sent to Master Zhang, Mr. Dazhou, Mr. Wenchang, and Mr. Zhuo Wu. Do you have anything else to say?
Why not explain it all together so that Master Zhang can have a clear idea of ​​what's going on?"

Xu Wei and Li Zhi looked at each other and shook their heads.

Zhao Zhenji stroked his beard and said calmly, "Your Highness, the fundamental point of Uncle Da's horse policy in Shandong is to reduce silver. There are so many things, but Uncle Zhang cuts them all into one line: reducing silver. Now many people in the capital call him the Governor of Reducing Silver."

The Governor of Zheyin, these people in the capital, can't do their job, but they are very good at giving people nicknames.

However, Zhang Juzheng's New Deal reforms were really based on this core principle in the economic field. He grasped the "One Whip Law" and made all the corvée and horse-riding policies count as money and put them into the tax system.

This is similar to the one-size-fits-all approach of later generations, which is easily criticized. Zhu Yijun smiled and asked, "Mr. Dazhou, do you think that Master Zhang's move is a good one?"

Zhao Zhenji raised his head slightly and replied, "Your Highness, my uncle's move was a deliberate and helpless one."

Xu Wei and Li Zhi looked at each other. "An act of helplessness? Mr. Dazhou, what do you mean by that?"

"Wenchang, Zhuowu, you have not been around, so you don't know how long the hands of the people below are, how dark their hearts are, and how bold they are! The higher-ups want to collect ten taels of silver, and with each layer adding up, the amount that ends up on the people is at least a hundred taels.

The more loopholes you leave, the more ways there are to cheat."

Zhu Yijun nodded approvingly. The malpractices in the officialdom have existed since ancient times, and their essence has not changed. If you dare to leave a gap above, you can create a Great Rift Valley in East Africa below.

Zhao Zhenji continued, "Uncle should have personally experienced the bad governance in the area and know that there are vines entangled underneath that are difficult to correct.

So he thought about it and decided to just cut it off and turn it all into silver. All the complicated things were turned into silver, and then all his attention was focused on the silver. It would be easy to find out who did a good job and who cheated. "

Xu Wei and Li Zhi understood and admired Zhang Juzheng's wisdom.

The political affairs below are complicated, and the personnel affairs are even more complicated.

Slowly sort it out. If you can't figure it out even after a year or two, it's better to grasp one point and simplify it. No matter what you do, you are collecting money.

Whether you do a good job or not depends on whether you collect the money in full and in time.

Are there any disadvantages?
There are definitely disadvantages, the key is to see whether the disadvantages outweigh the advantages or the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Zhu Yijun nodded, he understood Zhang Juzheng's difficulties.

Lao Zhang, just go for it, sometimes you can be a little bolder!
Starting from the 41st year of Jiajing, I established a Coordination Bureau similar to that of the Shaofu, and also deliberately set up an Inspection Office to seize military power in order to support your new policies.

Get some experience, because in the future the heavy responsibility of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty will be placed on your shoulders!
After the discussion, everyone went about their own business.

Nangong Ye approached Xu Wei and asked softly, "Mr. Wenchang, you are worried that the horse policy will be changed and the court will no longer raise horses. If something unexpected happens, there will be no horses to use. What if His Highness doesn't answer?"

Xu Wei smiled, "I was careless for a moment. Your Highness had already made a plan."

"What's the plan?"

"Attack the East and Make Peace with the West!"

Nangong Ye's eyes flashed, "Yes, after destroying the Jianzhou Jurchens and taking over the Northeast and the foothills of the Black Mountain (Greater Khingan Range), the Ming Dynasty will no longer lack good pastures and good horses."

He was stunned: "Your Highness is going to take action against the Jianzhou Jurchens and Chahar?"

Xu Wei smiled but did not answer.

Li Zhi came out to the supervisory office and was about to get into the sedan chair when he was stopped by Zhu Yijun.

"Mr. Zhuo Wu, are you going to Yi Nian Tang?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I will go to Yi Nian Tang today to give a lecture to everyone."

"go together."

Li Zhi was a little surprised.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "I will go and take a look. I am the head of Yinian Hall, so I should go and take a look. I brought some clothes with me today, and I will come back after taking a look."

Li Zhi cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

(End of this chapter)