Ming politicians

Geographically speaking, the most affluent place in Ming Dynasty is Nanzhili. Suzhou, Yangzhou and other places to which Nanzhili belongs are places with very developed commerce and trade. The strength even surpasses that of Nanjing. Unfortunately, because there are too many southerners in the imperial court, and their ancestral home is relatively concentrated in Nanzhili, this also leads to unlimited protection of local interests. When it is difficult, he will not help.

Southern Zhili is also the place where rich gentry and wealthy households are most concentrated. However, after Su Tiancheng came to power in Dengzhou, Laizhou and other places, due to the unprecedented development of commerce and trade, many powerful merchants secretly moved to Shandong. Zhili could not earn money, the key is that their status is difficult to be confirmed, the hierarchy of the imperial court is still strict, and the political status of scholars, farmers, businessmen, and merchants always ranks last, but this is not the case in Shandong.

Of course, as the richest people in Ming Dynasty, they are not pure merchants, but gentry combining government and business, especially some gentry families in the south. The identity earns money, so the real rich don't necessarily go to Shandong.

Su Tiancheng knew this very well. He would not underestimate the power of these scholar-bureaucrats. As long as he could occupy Nanzhili, more than half of the Zhu family's country would collapse. If there is no money to maintain the operation, no matter it is the officials in the court or the army in various places, they will start to rebel.

Su Tiancheng's next actions must be carefully planned, and there must be no large-scale disturbances in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, otherwise the vitality will be seriously damaged.In the future, it will be very difficult to manage it. This is actually asking for trouble for yourself.

On April [-], the governor's yamen in Hangzhou Fucheng.

After Zhu Shenxuan and others came to Hangzhou, almost all the elites under Su Tiancheng gathered in Hangzhou.When everyone came to Hangzhou, they mainly discussed the next action plan.

This is a meeting proposed by Su Tiancheng. After careful consideration, he believes that it is necessary to unify everyone's thinking and let everyone do things under the unified requirements. Many things also need to be explained. It will last for a while, and the things that need to be done must not be delayed.The construction must not be delayed because of the expropriation.

The lobby of the governor's office.

Zhu Shenxuan, Yang Sichang, Fan Jingwen, Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng, Lu Shanji, Xu Eryi, Zhang Pu, Bi Maokang, Qu Qingze, Sun Chuanting, Li Juesi, Song Yihe, and others, including officers above Jiangning camp commander and above, Shandong The prefects from all over the place, as well as Wu Weiye, Su Pingyang, Su Jun, Su Ertong, etc., gathered together. These people are the most core strength that Su Tiancheng can rely on. Among these people.Many decisions were made recently.It was precisely because many people joined Su Tiancheng that Zhu Shenxuan wrote a letter to Su Tiancheng, asking Su Tiancheng to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.

The format of the meeting is a bit special, everyone is sitting, and the lobby is full of people.Only Su Tiancheng stood alone.

Seeing the unaccustomed or surprised crowd, Su Tiancheng spoke with a smile.

"In the fourth year of Chongzhen, I took part in the imperial examination. Later, I was fortunate enough to be the second place in the palace examination. More than ten years have passed. At that time, I did not expect this scene today. I know very well that it is possible to get to where I am today. With the help of everyone here, without your efforts, I would not have achieved what I am today, so today everyone is sitting, and I am standing to speak, which is also respect and thanks to you."

"The first question that needs to be explained to you is also the matter that you are most concerned about. That is the matter of my proclaiming the emperor. King Jin wrote to me specially, and Mr. Qu came to supervise it. Believe in my explanation, everyone I know it all, but I still need to emphasize here, there is one thing that I didn't say clearly in the conversation with Mr. Qu, that is, the issue of rewards for the meritorious officials who follow me, after the event is completed, I People have always been straightforward and don't like to beat around the bush. Rewards are guaranteed. Everyone has worked hard. As the saying goes, if you sow melons, you will reap what you sow. There is no need for you to mess around with me, Su, but you have to remember one thing, that is, we do things according to the rules. Without the rules, we can’t be perfect. No matter who you are, you can’t mess with the rules, otherwise no matter what you have No amount of credit will be severely punished."

"I won't mention the matter of proclaiming the emperor for the time being, but there are still many things we are facing. The basic conditions in Shandong are better, the development of agriculture and commerce is very fast, and the living conditions of the people are much better. But Zhejiang and Fujian is a little worse, especially Zhejiang, which suffered a major locust plague last year, and the people were displaced, and now they need to recover quickly."

"This involves a governing issue, that is, how officials at all levels should do things. It is useless to talk too much. Keep these four words in mind and put the people first. As long as officials at all levels follow these four If we demand ourselves with words, then we will be able to overcome all difficulties and do all things well.”

"We have already conquered Zhejiang and Fujian, followed by Nanzhili, Huguang, Sichuan, Jiangxi and other places. After that, we will cross the Yangtze River to unify the north. Of course, we must not forget that Liaodong also has the Houjin Tartar Son, they have long coveted my land in the Central Plains, and the decisive battle between us and the Houjin Tartars is unavoidable."

"The most gratifying thing about winning Zhejiang and Fujian is that we did not harm the interests of the common people too much. We wiped out those rich men who committed crimes in Fujian, and wiped out the army led by Liu Zeqing in Zhejiang. In the process, we gained A lot of money and land, I have always emphasized that what is taken from the people is used by the people, and the government at all levels has used this money to do a lot of work in relief of the people, which also enables us to quickly stabilize the situation.”

"These days, I have been thinking about a problem, that is, the problem of land. You are all very clear. Because of the reality of land annexation, a large number of people have no arable land in their hands, which leads to the greatest instability. Land is The lifeblood of farmers, if they lose their land, they will lose everything, but I am also very clear about another thing, that is, solving the land problem cannot be completely solved overnight."

"I once handed over this issue to the school for discussion, and you all put forward a lot of suggestions, so I summed up these suggestions and thought about it again. After thinking for a long time, I finally understood, If you want to solve the land problem, you still need to start with us, that is, those of us who hold power."

"The reason for the land annexation is that the core lies in ourselves. Throughout the dynasties, the imperial court has rewarded those who have made meritorious service, nothing more than rewarding land. Such practices have exacerbated the matter of land annexation in disguise, so we I thought of a rule that from now on, all officials who work in the government are not allowed to own land personally."

After Su Tiancheng said these words, the hall became extremely quiet in an instant.

Land is wealth. This is the unanimous understanding of everyone. Not being able to own land is unacceptable to everyone, and it is enough to shake people's hearts. It is possible to fall apart within the DPRK.

Su Tiancheng had thought about this problem a long time ago.

"I know how you feel. Officials can't own land. It seems incredible. If we do this, who will support us? If we officials are poor, how can we do things with peace of mind."

"So, I have considered the issue of salary. Anyone who is an official relies on salary to support himself and his family. As long as he becomes an official, he can live a life without worrying about food and clothing."

"The salary given to officials by the Ming court is, in my opinion, unable to support their families. Even a county magistrate of the seventh rank has an annual salary of less than 100 taels of silver. This silver is obviously not enough, so we need to start from the salary. Let’s start to greatly increase the salaries of officials.”

"I have already discussed this with many people. Officials in the government must be streamlined on a large scale, and their salaries must be greatly increased. Taking the magistrate of the seventh rank as an example, the monthly salary is not less than 100 taels of silver. After coming down, the county magistrate is enough to support the family. With such a salary, there is no need to own much land."

"Wealth is what everyone wants to pursue. Perhaps the magistrates of the seventh rank still feel that it is not enough after receiving these salaries, but I must emphasize one point. The core of people-oriented is the self-restraint of officials. Since you are a commoner If you are a parent officer, you have to think about your own responsibilities, and you have to think about doing things for the people. If all you think about is your own wealth and wealth, then you will not be able to be a parent officer.”

"The father-in-law of the Southern Song Dynasty once said a word, civil servants don't love money, military generals don't hesitate to die, the world is peaceful, believe this sentence, you all know it, follow me to do things, you need to do this, I won't force it Everyone accepts this point of view, if you don’t want to, you can become a merchant and make a fortune, but since you have stepped in and become an official, then you must follow this requirement.”

"You all know the situation in Shandong. In fact, it was done in accordance with this requirement. It is precisely because of this that Dengzhou, Laizhou, Qingzhou and other places were able to quickly solve the problem in the shortest possible time. Developed." (To be continued...)