Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 186 Yao Guangxiao’s response strategy!

"army?"

Yang Shiqi was slightly startled, and a hint of doubt flashed across his dark eyes.

"These matters are complicated and involve all government offices, local nobles, gentry and landlords across the country. They cannot be solved by sending a large army to suppress them!"

The old monk smiled brightly and shook his head, "Of course not."

It is impossible for military soldiers to replace government agency staff and do specific administrative work on their behalf.

Even a military government can only use force to threaten the civilian government to obey its orders by controlling the central departments of the government.

Even if it is martial law, to implement it at the grassroots level, local officials will need to mobilize personnel to cooperate.

The biggest trouble faced by the Commissioner of Taxation was actually the "soft confrontation" waged by local officials, gentry, and various forces.

Bureaucrats and clerks at all levels have countless ways to find various excuses and use the "pass the buck" method to deal with the tax commissioner.

Without the cooperation of local government offices, it would become an impossible task for the tax commissioner to collect taxes in various places.

Nothing can be accomplished except causing various conflicts and contradictions.

This is exactly the power of clerks.

Even in later societies, there is a saying that "county magistrates are not as good as current managers"!

Moreover, Zhu Yunhuan also had to consider the issue of social stability.

The purpose of setting up the Taxation Bureau to directly collect commercial taxes is not only to generate revenue for the court, but more importantly, to create a good business environment.

This was also a preparation for entering the Age of Discovery and establishing a commercial society for the Ming Dynasty.

Only fair and just taxation can allow outstanding entrepreneurs to stand out.

Otherwise, bad money will drive out good money and all kinds of chaos will occur.

It’s best to do this now.

Because with the continuous transformation, the development of the financial industry, and the innovation of industrial technology, there will be more and more businessmen in the future, the interests will be more and more deeply tied, and it will become more and more difficult to do this.

Yang Shiqi sighed and said, "I know there are many disadvantages in handing it over to the local government and letting those clerks collect taxes."

“But the worst thing to do is to rush things.”

"Besides, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has only been in power for a short time, so it is not appropriate to cause any major incidents."

"Although the people in the tax department are fair, capable and motivated, they lack local work experience and are unfamiliar with the 'rules' of various places, which leads to frequent conflicts."

"The compromise is to have the local government collect the tax first and then have the tax commissioner supervise it."

"We can change it slowly in the future."

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "Your suggestion is indeed a mature and wise view on state affairs."

"But the interests involved are so vast that no matter when this is pushed forward, it will turn the world upside down."

"The only way is to push it through with force and force."

"On the contrary, it is taboo to take things step by step and look ahead and behind."

"Otherwise, all parties will unite and make it difficult to move forward."

The old monk's temperament is different from Yang Shiqi's.

Yang Shiqi pursues stability when doing things.

Never take risks unless you have to.

But the old monk is a person who dares to poke holes in the sky.

"Brother Yang's words just now also touched on a key point."

"It seems that all parties are opposing this matter, making it difficult for the tax commissioner to take any action."

"But if it is delegated to the local government offices, Brother Yang also believes that they will be able to collect taxes."

"This means that the key to this matter lies in the local government offices and the clerks under their command."

“Without their support, it would be difficult for the tax department to collect taxes.”

"After all, the local government offices command all parties, and the tax commissioner has to go to their territory to do business."

"If they don't cooperate, the tax commissioner can't even deal with the local gentry."

"Let alone the taxation department collecting taxes, even if the Ming Bank opens branches in various places, or even if the Ming Daily, which I manage, opens branches in various places, they all need the cooperation of the local government offices."

"The difference is that the Daming Bank and Daming Daily will not harm their interests too much, and the local government is willing to cooperate."

"But there are also some places that will secretly trip you up and deliberately create trouble."

"Brother Yang should also be well aware of this."

Yang Shiqi nodded slightly.

The situation in the local areas is very different from that in the capital.

After all, the capital is under the emperor's feet.

Those who lent money at high interest, even if they were royal relatives, had to be cautious and not go too far.

They did not dare to openly obstruct the Ming Bank from opening a branch.

After all, the Ming Bank was run by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself.

To obstruct the Ming Bank is to become an enemy of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

But it’s different down there.

Some local powerful forces would use various reasons or some dirty tricks to prevent Ming Bank from entering.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is high up in the sky and it is impossible for him to be involved in everything.

What's more, he is thousands of miles away.

The Ming Bank's lending affected their lending practices.

Local tyrants used their local connections and relationships to take care of government offices and create obstacles for the Ming Bank to enter.

This kind of thing happened many times during the expansion of Ming Bank.

Yao Guangxiao narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Brother Yang should have some experience on how to solve these problems."

Yang Shiqi was slightly stunned.

His solution to these problems was to ask for assistance from nearby garrisons.

Everyone knows that the Ming Bank was founded by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also the president of the Daming Military Academy. Even if the commander of the guard has not yet entered the Daming Military Academy, it is only a matter of time.

You will enter in the future.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not only the Crown Prince, but also their teacher.

The Ming Bank did not harm the interests of the garrison troops, so of course they were happy to help and do a favor.

The government offices used various excuses to shirk responsibility and either delayed or turned a blind eye to the local tyrants' obstruction of the Ming Bank.

But when the garrison troops arrived, they immediately became obedient.

No landlord would be foolish enough to confront the army head-on.

When the local officials saw the army intervene, they no longer dared to shirk their responsibilities.

But the problem is that the garrisons in various places are willing to help the Ming Bank solve its difficulties and deter local tyrants with ill intentions, but they are unwilling to help the Commissioner of Taxation.

Even if they are forced to do so, they will shirk their responsibilities and delay just like the local government offices.

After all, this is tantamount to letting the garrison kill themselves with knives.

"To govern a country, we must first govern the army!" Yao Guangxiao said, "The key to why the Commissioner of Taxation is difficult to advance in the local areas is that the root is still in the army!"

"The generals of the various garrisons engage in commerce, the border troops engage in smuggling, and the tax bureau collects and inspects taxes, which is to be their enemy."

“No matter how strong the tax commissioner is, it is difficult to confront the military.”

"The only solution is to enforce military discipline and strictly prohibit military officers from engaging in business or letting others do business!"

"As long as the troops stationed in various places have no vested interests involved, we can get them to cooperate with the tax commissioner."

"If the various departments of the imperial court can put pressure on the local government offices and all parties join forces, this matter can be easily resolved."

Yang Shiqi looked at him, his eyes full of horror.

In fact, with his intelligence, how could he not know what Yao Guangxiao said?

But is it easy to rectify the army?
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty by Emperor Hongwu, corruption among officials has always been severely punished.

I don’t know how many officials were killed for this reason.

But most of the time, Zhu Yuanzhang would turn a blind eye to corruption among military generals.

The number of military generals imprisoned for corruption and bribery is much smaller than that of civilian officials, and the proportion is also much lower.

When Lan Yu led his army to war, he dared to rob the princess of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. This was certainly because he was so bold and presumptuous, and had the intention of deliberately defiled himself.

But there is another reason, which is that when armies go out to fight, burning, killing and looting are not uncommon.

This was also a common problem of all armies in the feudal era.

The so-called strict military discipline and no harm to the people are mostly just differences in degree and beautification in history books!

Of course, there are differences in military discipline among different armies, and the difference is huge.

But in the feudal era, it was basically impossible for the army to truly ensure that no one was harmed.

The quality of the soldiers themselves is very low, and they fight wars just to get promoted and make money.

Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty court did not pay any military pay to the soldiers, and the garrison troops relied on farming to support themselves.

For the soldiers, going out to fight is pure loss!

If after winning a battle they cannot take advantage of the opportunity to gain some benefits and seize some property, I'm afraid the soldiers and generals will quit.

What's more, for soldiers who risk their lives every day and don't know whether they can survive tomorrow after surviving today, military discipline alone cannot control them.

I'm going to die tomorrow, am I still afraid of your military punishment today?

Does it make much difference if you die one day earlier or one day later?
He got so angry that he rebelled on the spot!
The generals are well aware of this, so their demands will not be too harsh.

Otherwise, it would cause unrest among soldiers, which would be counterproductive.

But once this trend is established, it will spread and affect the entire army.

Even in peacetime when there is no war, the habits developed over a long period of time will still be preserved.

Soldiers and ruffians are difficult to cure and have been a chronic disease in all dynasties.

The generals were the same, extremely arrogant.

Generally speaking, the imperial court would appease and win them over.

In order to stabilize the military morale, there will be no severe punishment unless the fault is too serious.

How easy is it to prohibit the garrison commanders from secretly engaging in business and making profits?

The Commissioner of Taxation has already stirred up a hornet's nest among the local tyrants and clerks. If he further disrupts the army, the consequences will be disastrous.

"In the past, this would have been extremely difficult."

Facing Yang Shiqi's gaze, Yao Guangxiao appeared extremely calm.

"Now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned victoriously with the Ming Navy, and his prestige has spread far and wide across the world."

"The Ming Navy was very strict in selecting its personnel, and all of them were educated and literate."

"They are capable of serving as general officers at all levels."

"Now that they have military merits, they can be promoted naturally."

"They were trained by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself."

"It is just right to select the best and most capable men from among them to lead the troops in various garrisons and enforce military discipline."

"If there is any unusual movement, it can be suppressed."

"Why should we worry about this causing unrest?"

Yao Guangxiao turned to look at Zhu Yunhuan: "If my guess is correct, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already wanted to organize an army, right?"

"When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince recruited soldiers into the Daming Military Academy, he had already paved the way."

The old monk said in a resounding voice: "Now is the best opportunity. Let's start by prohibiting the generals of each army from engaging in business and smuggling."

"One is to reverse the bad atmosphere that has been formed in the army since the founding war."

“Secondly, as long as the military is not involved, the taxation department’s difficulty in collecting taxes will be solved.”

"Third, His Royal Highness can also take this opportunity to firmly grasp the military power in his hands. From now on, no one can threaten His Royal Highness's position. It can also prevent the generals from using the money earned from business to buy people's hearts and form a situation where they are too powerful to be eliminated."

"With these three benefits, I think it is imperative to reorganize the army!"

……

(End of this chapter)