Ming politicians

The enthronement ceremony had just ended, and Su Tiancheng called the cabinet scholars, six ministers, governors of various provinces, the Ministry of Rites, the left servant of the Ministry of Industry, the inspector Du Yushi, and the governor of the Metropolitan Government to discuss matters. In the eyes of everyone, this time Su Tiancheng It must be to discuss matters of conquest. After all, the Great Jin Dynasty only unified the south, and there are not many provinces that can be controlled. There is still a large area of ​​land in the north, and there are still people in Liaodong.

Su Tiancheng didn't think so, he had already made a plan in his heart.

The Great Jin Dynasty that he led was, in the final analysis, an elite dynasty, not much different from previous dynasties. It relied heavily on the emperor's personal wisdom and integrity. The civil and military ministers he used were all scholars and students of the Ming Dynasty. Minister, although there is a difference in understanding, but the essence is still elite thinking. After all, I still look down on the common people. I think the common people are the people, a group to be used, and a class that needs to be cared for and taken care of. As for the common people Creativity and the enormous energy it can unleash, they don't recognize and don't pay attention to.

The idea that Su Tiancheng needs to use the system to manage people and affairs needs to be realized in this era. I am afraid it is a bit unrealistic. After all, personal ability is limited, and the knowledge of civil and military ministers cannot be improved. It is not very effective to shout alone. In the end, it still relied on iron and blood to maintain the rule.Therefore, Su Tiancheng can only rely on his iron and blood skills to gradually do a good job in related matters, and then implement relevant policies when the general climate is suitable.

Land issues and financial and tax issues were two major problems that Su Tiancheng had to face. As for the matter of conquest, in his opinion, overthrowing the Zhu family's dynasty was not very difficult, even for the post-Gold Tartars of Liaodong.In the end, it was completely wiped out by the Jin Dynasty. The dynasty has already been established, and everything needs to be coordinated. We can't just consider the matter of conquest, and there are many specific things that need to be carefully planned and implemented.

Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or the newly established Jin Dynasty.The financial problems faced are all the same, that is, the agricultural economy is the mainstay, and most of the taxes are borne by farmers, which means that the fiscal revenue cannot be very high, and to a large extent it depends on the sky. Once there is a famine, it will be difficult to maintain the dynasty. More importantly, what Su Tiancheng implements is the policy of high salaries and honesty.The salaries of officials are very high, and the military pay of the army is also a huge expenditure. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for the Jin Dynasty to prosper and survive for a long time without changing the existing agricultural-dominated pattern.

If you want the country to be rich and the people strong, you must develop commerce and trade and liberate the common people from the land.Create more wealth through commerce and trade, and the imperial court gets more wealth from commerce and trade.Only in this way can the notice of the imperial court be truly maintained, and the Jin Dynasty can truly begin to grow stronger, instead of being just a flash in the pan like those prosperous times in history.

After traveling through so many years, Su Tiancheng has made a lot of efforts, and the province of Shandong is almost dominated by commerce.However, it is impossible to maintain the Great Jin Dynasty only by relying on Shandong. This model of commerce and trade supplemented by agriculture must be promoted throughout the Great Jin Dynasty.

This understanding must be accepted by the civil and military ministers of the Jin Dynasty.This is a matter of principle, and there must be absolutely no noise. There cannot be any debate on the issue of business development.

The second is the land issue. Land annexation has always been a big problem. It has not been completely solved in the past dynasties. In the early days of each dynasty, the problem of land annexation can be solved very well, but after a period of development, the problem of land annexation It was inevitable that Su Tiancheng, who traveled through time, knew very well that this kind of problem cannot be completely solved without changing the nature of land ownership.

Therefore, the Dajin Dynasty will implement the policy of state-owned land. The ownership of land belongs to the state and the imperial court. Anyone only has the right to use it, but individuals are sacred and inviolable before using the land. Unless the state needs to expropriate, otherwise it is generally Private trading is not allowed.

As for the officials of the imperial court, they are not allowed to own land. Land is the foundation of farmers' survival. Officials can support their families by relying on their salaries, and there is no need to compete with farmers for interests.

The core issue here is the issue of agricultural taxation. Once the land is returned to the country, all agricultural taxes belong to the imperial court. The interests of those landlords and gentry who rely on land for survival will suffer huge damage. The biggest difficulty in the land policy implemented by Su Tiancheng.

But the land policy must be carried out, and it is better to cry all the way than a family. Such a land policy can stabilize the vast majority of farmers and ensure the long-term stability of the Jin Dynasty regime.

Fengtian Temple.

This is the place where Su Tiancheng ascended the throne. Many civil and military ministers listened to Su Tiancheng's statement very seriously.

They would never have imagined that Su Tiancheng, after ascension to the throne, showed a ferocious side. Many civil and military ministers repeatedly understood the policy of developing commerce. Even Yang Sichang, Fan Jingwen and Xu Eryi expressed their support. They are well aware of the situation in Shandong, because the development of commerce and trade has far surpassed the prosperity of the capital, and the taxes and taxes obtained by the imperial court from commercial transactions are also amazingly astronomical. The implementation actually depends on the taxation of Shandong's commerce and trade. Once this situation is pushed away in other places, one can imagine how wealthy the soldiers of the Jin Dynasty are. Of course, everyone knows that Su Tiancheng's idea is probably not just to develop Commercial.

The land policy was difficult for everyone to accept for a while. In the past dynasties, the land was privately owned. Now the imperial court wants to take all the land back to the imperial court. It is conceivable that the difficulties faced in this are conceivable. Gentlemen and rich households are all prominent figures and elites. Wouldn’t Su Tiancheng’s request shake his own foundation? If these people all rise up to oppose it, it will be a huge hidden danger for the Jin Dynasty up.

Almost everyone has spoken, and everyone’s opinions are very consistent. They support the development of commerce and trade, which includes the abolition of the previous restrictions on the status of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce. Commerce and trade are no longer regarded as untouchables. The commercial tax is the main source of tax revenue for the court. However, in the face of the land issue, everyone expressed their worries. They worried that such a move might affect the Jin Dynasty and make those gentry and wealthy households who owned land, including the scholar class, all leave here and go directly to He took refuge in the Ming court.

Although the atmosphere in the court was very serious, all the civil and military ministers expressed their opinions. They have followed Su Tiancheng for a long time and know Su Tiancheng's temper and temperament. When it is time to speak, you can just speak out. It can be said that there is no need to worry that Su Tiancheng will lose his temper. When Su Tiancheng makes a decision, he will also give detailed reasons, which basically convinces everyone. As for the implementation of policies, he must follow the requirements without compromise. No buckle.

Su Tiancheng listened to all the opinions, and he really felt that everyone was still worried.

Su Tiancheng didn't want to say more about business and trade matters. After the implementation of the specific issues, they will be resolved one by one. No one can predict the foresight, but he has to convince everyone about the land matters.

"Regarding the matter of the land being owned by the imperial court, all of you dear ministers have stated your opinions. You are all worried that after the imperial court implements such a tough measure, it will encounter strong opposition, and many gentry and wealthy households will betray the imperial court. Going to seek refuge with the Ming court, these worries, I also thought about it, and such a situation will definitely appear in a short time."

Everyone looked at Su Tiancheng, and they also knew that Su Tiancheng must have thought of this question.

"But have you ever thought about why there were a large number of refugees during the reign of Tianqi and the early years of Chongzhen, why there were bandits rebelling, and why Shandong rescued so many victims last year? It was nothing more than a problem on the land. Regarding the matter of taxation, your understanding is completely unified, no matter who it is, everyone has to pay the tax, I am afraid that you think that through this method, the matter of land annexation can be resolved, but it is far from enough."

"During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, the land policy was very good, and it was precisely because of that policy that the glorious Tang Dynasty was created. However, in less than 300 years, the glory of the Tang Dynasty disappeared without a trace. There are many reasons for this, but I think land policy is one of the most critical reasons.”

"The annexation of land is the direct culprit. When the rogues rebelled, the slogan they shouted was that the officials and gentry pay the food as a whole. But why is it difficult to implement such a policy for a long time? Because the imperial court is in the hands of the officials and gentry. The officials and gentry decide, after a long time, who doesn’t want to seek their own interests.”

"I don't want such a situation to happen. After a hundred years, I and you probably don't know how the situation will develop. Therefore, I think that under the current situation, the most important thing is to establish a system."

"You all know the benefits of the imperial court having land ownership. This allows the imperial court to collect taxes in a legitimate manner. Whether it is facing ordinary people or facing wealthy gentry, what you are worried about is the chaos when the land is confiscated. There is nothing to be afraid of, worrying about the rebellion of those gentry and wealthy households. Whether it is ordinary people or gentry and wealthy households, they don’t suffer from inequalities. I have no choice but to say that those who must leave and those who do not support it, but the imperial court's land policy will never be shaken, and it must be implemented with great effort." (To be continued...)