Reborn Ming Dynasty as Emperor

Chapter 191 Secret Discussion on the Royal Boat
Zhu Youxiao didn't know whether he should be disappointed or happy. The largest squire in Shandong, Kong Shengshenggong, was so popular.

Coupled with the status of Kongyan Shenggong in the forest, Zhu Youxiao seems to have felt the key to the implementation of the integration of officials and gentry in Shandong this time. If Kongyan Shenggong takes the lead in supporting it, it will definitely get twice the result with half the effort, but If you support it, it will take a lot of effort to remove this stubborn rock blocking the way.

When Zhu Youxiao returned to his imperial boat, Sun Chengzong, Ma Shiying, and Yuan Keli had already arrived at him.

Apart from Sun Chengzong, Zhu Youxiao also met Ma Shiying and Yuan Keli for the first time. At this moment, these two figures who have left a strong mark in the history of the late Ming Dynasty are also a little embarrassed after saluting to Zhu Youxiao like ordinary people. disturbed.

"The three of you have worked hard on the journey, Wang Chengen, give them seats!"

After Zhu Youxiao said that, he gave Wu Jin a wink. Wu Jin understood, and after walking over and whispering a few words to Yi Deli's confidant, the Dongchang fan came out of the cabin and shouted in a low voice: "Be careful, be careful within ten steps. If anyone trespasses, shoot and kill!"

And here, Zhu Youxiao asked Li Mingrui and Wang Chengen to find a seat by themselves, and the six monarchs and ministers sat around and started a secret conversation.

"You also know the purpose of meeting you here, right? There are a lot of people in the capital, but we can talk about the next thing during this southern tour. Before that, we got through with you, you guys Now you can talk about your own thoughts."

As Zhu Youxiao said, he picked up a cup of hot tea and blew on the boiling air: "Teacher, come first and make a good start."

Sun Chengzong had been blown by wind and sand in the northwest for several months, his skin became a little sallow, and with his green shirt and common clothes, he looked like an old farmer.

At this moment, he got up and bowed his hands to Zhu Youxiao, then handed a volume of books to Wang Chengen:

"Your Majesty, the land of Qin is not as vast as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and lakes. There are not many famous gentry and officials, and most of the fertile land is concentrated in the hands of rich peasants and elders;
And this volume of books is the records of the imperial court's income based on the fish scale books and yellow books in the past years, plus field inspections, about the taxation of the field and the taxation of the person;

During the Wanli period, because Zhang Jiangling was in charge of the cabinet, it was implemented for a period of time. The minister also compared the taxes of that year with the previous Jiajing and Longqing years and the records from the 35th year of Wanli to the seventh year of Tianqi;
It was found that if the tax was levied according to the per-mu basis, the imperial tax could be more than three times higher than the highest record since Wanli, and the tax-exempted poor people could reach [-]% of the total population of Qin. "

After all, he is a capable minister and official, and he does things meticulously. Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but affirmed Sun Chengzong's words in his heart, and asked: "Although Guanzhong is poor, there are many wealthy families, and many of them are related to the frontier army. Or there are relationships in the court, and you have a lot of responsibilities, so if you have any difficulties at that time, you can raise them at any time."

"Yes!"

Sun Chengzong responded, here, Yuan Keli also stood up.

Although Yuan Keli looked like he had silver hair all over his head, his waist was standing straight. From the calluses on his tiger's mouth, it could be seen that he had held a knife and been on the battlefield. He was obviously not a civil servant who only knew how to talk about war on paper.

"My minister's place is different from other places. I also investigated the gentry in Shandong and found that because Shandong enjoys fame and is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, there are many middle-ranked people. Therefore, most of the fields are Concentrated in the hands of these gentry, especially the four families of Kong, Lin, He and Meng;

Among them, Kongyan Shenggong's mansion occupies the largest area of ​​land, but because it has been treated preferentially in all dynasties and no corvee taxes are levied, there are also many contributors. Although Shandong is considered a rich place today, the court can However, the collection of taxes is not as good as that of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other southwestern provinces. "

Zhu Youxiao nodded with deep satisfaction. Shandong is in the middle of the Grand Canal and has a well-developed water system, but it is true that the taxes collected are lower than those of relatively poor provinces, especially since the late Ming Dynasty. What Yuan Keli said is not unreasonable, and also It can be seen that as long as the Kong family is settled, other things will be much easier.

At this time, Zhu Youxiao looked at Ma Shiying again. Ma Shiying's face was a little fair. Although he was almost 40 years old, he looked only 30 years old, and his beard was very short. The treacherous ministers on the stage look the same, they seem to be very treacherous.

But no one expected that it was such a treacherous official who chose to die for the country when a large number of so-called honest people surrendered to the Tartars. I really don't know that such an unscrupulous and corrupt man Why would a treacherous minister make such a move? After all, many pure ministers did not do so.

Perhaps, there is only one fact, that is, Ma Shiying may not be a gentleman, but he is definitely not as miserable as the Donglin Party described.

History has always been written by the victors. I am afraid that these Donglin Party members who have defected to the Manchu Tartars will naturally not leave any good words when they record this powerful enemy who caused their Donglin Party to spend all their efforts. He tried his best to demean Ma Shiying, and it was best for future generations to scold Ma Shiying that he was a traitor almost as soon as they heard him.

"In Fengyang, I also made an estimate on the goods of various inspection departments and transit caravans at the customs and various businesses in prefectures and counties. Among them, the goods transiting through my Fengyang alone are not less than 1000 million taels per month. The inns, teahouses, restaurants, cloth, grain, oil, medicine and other shops in various prefectures and counties spend no less than one million dollars even in the worst counties. The revenue increase for the treasury should be more than ten million taels."

After Ma Shiying finished speaking, Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli gasped, and couldn't help looking at Ma Shiying.

Not only these two people, but even Li Mingrui, a cabinet scholar at this time, felt that Ma Shiying was bragging. Just collecting business tax and setting lijin in Fengyang could generate more than ten million taels of income, which was directly comparable to the revenue of the national treasury. Increase the amount of commercial tax collection throughout the country and set up checkpoints in the thoroughfare of each province, then the financial problems that have been embarrassing Ming Dynasty for decades will not be a problem.

On the other hand, Zhu Youxiao himself was quite ignorant. He was naturally very clear about the folk wealth accumulated by this ancient empire. Even in his opinion, Ma Shiying actually made a conservative estimate.

Fengyang is not only a transit point for north-south trade in goods, but also a transit point for east-west goods. Its economic scale should not only be tens of millions per month. Exactly how much white money flowed into the pockets of the gentry who played the role of merchants from the hands of the common people and the imperial court.

"It seems that you are all full of confidence, but I have to make it clear to you that although the prospects for this pilot reform are very good, the resistance encountered is also great. You have to be prepared, but I can guarantee What's more, as long as I'm still in power for a day, I can let you start and end well, and if I'm not around for a day, I will leave a will to protect you and your family from any worries."

Zhu Youxiao's words moved the three officials in the borderlands very much, and the three of them hurriedly asked Zhu Youxiao to rest assured that since they decided to be the vanguard of reform, they were mentally prepared, not to mention that they themselves had vested interests Those who make such a choice now are naturally not greedy for glory, wealth and fame, but just a sense of mission that arises spontaneously after staying in the place for many years and witnessing the tragic situation of countless people.

In addition, there are already women in the palace who have conceived dragon species for His Majesty, which undoubtedly strengthened their beliefs. With His Majesty's age, if there is no worry about having children, why worry about Daming not being able to revive the national power.

(End of this chapter)