Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 39 Brahmins and Shudras in the Ming Dynasty

At noon the next day, Zhang Yunxiu climbed out of bed.

The warm golden sun shone through the window and fell on Zhang Yunxiu's cheek. He felt warm all over and had an indescribable comfort all over his body.

Although he failed to completely convince Lao Zhang yesterday, he was sure that Lao Zhang was also interested.

Was the Ming Dynasty poor? Really not.

With the opening of the Longqing Gate, silver from all over the world began to flow into China.

Unfortunately, the silver did not circulate normally, nor did it enter the national treasury, but instead went into private pockets.

Saving money has been a great pleasure for the Chinese since ancient times.

If I have money, I won’t spend it.

Of course, this is influenced by factors such as inconvenient road transportation and the self-sufficiency of the small peasant economy.

But now, there is an unavoidable fact for the Ming Dynasty: it is caught in deflation.

This is worse than inflation.

As prices fall, people's enthusiasm for production decreases.

Last night, he discussed two issues with Lao Zhang: "One is the circulation of money, and the other is the circulation of people."

The former requires raising the status of merchants and encouraging the development of merchants and small workshops.

The latter is to reduce the burden on farmers who have no land or little land, allowing them to move around and find jobs for themselves.

In the latter Zhang Juzheng's "One Whip" policy, "measuring the land and counting the number of people" was already a measure.

He was extremely unimpressed with the former.

To be honest, how can farming be faster than harvesting leeks?

If you have money and an army, you can just go on the great voyages to seize colonies.

Every penny of capital is stained with blood, and the accumulation of primitive capital can only be achieved through robbing.

Didn’t those pirate dogs from Great Britain make their fortune from this?

After muttering a few words in his mind, Zhang Yunxiu stood up and got dressed.

After washing up, Zhang Fu stepped in and asked with concern, "Sir, were you okay yesterday?"

"What can I do?" Zhang Yunxiu asked back.

"The servants all heard you and the master having a fierce quarrel last night," Zhang Fu replied timidly.

"It's okay," Zhang Yunxiu wiped the water from his hands, walked to the table and sat down, whispering, "It's just that the old man is old and a little stubborn. He can't accept new things."

Zhang Fu didn't dare to respond.

"Humph!"

A muffled groan was heard, and Zhang Yunxiu turned his head to see Zhang Juzheng walking in with a sullen face.

"master."

"Father."

The two of them hurriedly bowed.

"You go out first." Zhang Juzheng pointed at Zhang Fu.

Zhang Fu stepped out of the room in a few strides, and did not forget to close the door for Zhang Juzheng before leaving.

There was a "click" sound, and the room became dark.

Zhang Juzheng sat down and stared at Zhang Yunxiu for a long while before he said, "Last night, you talked about the benefits of merchants, which may be true, but have you ever thought about the disadvantages of merchants after their status is elevated?"

"There is no perfect solution in the world. If you are looking for the perfect solution, then you might as well not do anything at all."

Zhang Yunxiu muttered helplessly.

It is true that merchants did have an impact when they became powerful, but that little harm was insignificant compared to relying on merchants to revitalize the Ming market and plunder overseas colonies.

"Okay, you are right about this. There is no perfect rule in the world." Zhang Juzheng admitted generously, and then said, "Also, at the end of your speech last night, you also said that you wanted to reform the household registration system."

"I want to hear what can be changed about this household registration."

"What kind of household are we?" Zhang Yunxiu asked.

"Military household." Zhang Juzheng frowned. He didn't know why his son was asking such nonsense.

"Then father must know that military households are the largest number of households that escape every year."

Zhu relied on the military households to conquer the country, but it is obvious that the military households have now become completely corrupt. The military of the garrisons has low combat effectiveness and serious vacancies. They are just a bunch of parasites that eat away at the country.

Apart from those hereditary military officers who were unhappy, the ordinary military households below were eager to leave the military households as soon as possible.

"The drawbacks of military households are already apparent. It would be better to disband the military in the garrisons. For all hereditary households, salaries should be given according to the original officials. If there is no great achievement after each generation, the hereditary status will be downgraded to a lower level," Zhang Yunxiu suggested.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head after hearing this: "It involves too many things. The two hundred years of the Weisuo system cannot be explained in a day or a night."

"That's right," Zhang Yunxiu nodded, and brought up another household registration, "Let's start with the craftsman registration."

The artisan class is a truly lowly class. If the Ming imperial family is the "Brahmins", then the artisan class is the "Shudras".

The income is low, and once you are a craftsman, your descendants will all be craftsmen.

Such discrimination has greatly dampened the enthusiasm of these skilled craftsmen.

"Artisan registration." Zhang Juzheng hesitated again and frowned, "If these people change their registration to artisan registration, then no one will be a craftsman in the future. Who will the military equipment bureau and the weaving bureaus in various places recruit to work?"

"They have to eat, and the court didn't let them go free for nothing."

"Instead, let them spend their own money to buy their freedom." Zhang Yunxiu said very quickly.

In his view, the liberation of serfs in Russia was a very good compromise.

Allowing farmers to gain freedom and land while being burdened with heavy debts, thus balancing the interests of both sides.

These craftsmen have been craftsmen for generations. As long as they can escape from their craftsman status, they will definitely be willing to pay money to redeem themselves.

No money?

Just keep the debt and pay it back slowly year by year.

As long as these people start to move around, the benefits to the Ming Dynasty will outweigh the disadvantages.

Zhang Juzheng also heard the benefit and couldn't help asking, "Then tell me, how much money is appropriate for one person?"

"One hundred taels per household." Zhang Yunxiu thought for a while and replied.

"There are more than 70,000 artisans in the country, so doesn't that mean there are 7 million taels?" Zhang Juzheng was surprised, but soon calmed down and reminded him, "One hundred taels, even if you squeeze the bones and suck the marrow out of them, the artisans can't come up with that."

"It's not like they have to pay it out all at once. We charge them a cent of interest every year until they pay it back."

"That's good." Zhang Juzheng clapped his hands and stood up.

The interest rate of one hundred taels and one point is only one tael a year, which is not much for a family.

You know, even if the craftsmen didn't go to serve, they still had to pay silver every month. In the south, each person paid nine coins of silver per month, and in the north, each person paid six coins of silver per month.

This has only one disadvantage - the craftsmen will become unruly and unwilling to work for the court.

After thinking for a few seconds, Zhang Juzheng looked up and down at his son and expressed his thoughts: "This matter is also of great importance. We should try it out somewhere and then promote it nationwide."

"My father has foresight and is justified in doing so."

Zhang Yunxiu stood up and complimented him, and Zhang Juzheng walked out of the room without further ado.

There are indeed some problems with the household registration system stipulated by Taizu. There are too many military households and it is difficult to change them. However, the artisan households can be tried.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng's heart warmed up and his steps became lighter.

(End of this chapter)