Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 205 Questions and Answers between Zhu Yijun and Huang Laifu
The East Nuan Pavilion is warm and peaceful, and it doesn't feel like the cold winter outside.

At this time, Huang Laifu had a clear view of the scenery in the pavilion, the antique bookshelves, the voluminous books, and the large lacquered plaque on the blackboard on the wall. It seemed that this place was where Emperor Wanli usually dealt with political affairs.It really is a SOHO family who work at home. Here, there is no boring disturbance from courtiers, and you can do things freely. It really is brilliant.

But right now, Huang Laifu didn't have the heart to pay attention to this. His whole mind was devoted to the question and answer with Emperor Wanli.

Huang Laifu introduced to Emperor Wanli how Wuzhai Fort developed and how he fought against the Mongols twice. Hearing that Emperor Wanli relished it, he had a kind of golden iron horse in his heart to fly beyond the Great Wall.And he had a subtle feeling in his heart, being with Huang Laifu, he was very relaxed, and he even felt a little lazy in his heart, as if two friends were chatting, not guarded, not restrained, this feeling was something he had never experienced before of.

"Huang Aiqing, I heard that the merchants of Wuzhaibao are already developing beyond the Great Wall?"

Emperor Wanli finally mentioned the punctuality.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Huang Laifu knew from history that Emperor Wanli didn't seem to care about things at ordinary times, but because of the developed Jinyiwei system, nothing in the world could escape his eyes, and if there was anything that endangered the imperial power, he always acted decisively. He is merciless and makes it impossible for the opponent to stand up.In front of him, it's best not to hide anything, otherwise it will leave a bad impression on him, and his future will be in danger. Of course, Huang Laifu is a matter of the time traveler, and he will not say anything if he is killed.

At that moment, Huang Laifu said calmly: "Nowadays, in my Ming Dynasty, there are many people and little land, and there are many disasters, so refugees from all over the place gather. And the land in Shuofang has thousands of miles of land, and most of them are fertile land. It's a pity to abandon them."

Huang Laifu introduced some rich resources in the Hetao area to Emperor Wanli: "Only along the Huangpuchuan River (the old name of Zhungeer Banner in the Ming Dynasty) to the west of the Guan, there are more than one million acres of arable land, and there are good pastures. There are millions of mu. Not to mention that there are tens of millions of fertile fields and countless grasslands in the entire Shuofang area. If all of them are reclaimed, they will be enough to feed tens of millions of soldiers and civilians in Ningxia Town, Yansui Town, Shanxi Town, Datong Town and other places, saving countless national funds. .”

Emperor Wanli was very moved when he heard that, he didn't expect that the land of Hetao would be so beneficial. In his previous conception, the land outside the Great Wall had always been penniless. Now it seems that his conception is about to change.If it is true what Huang Laifu said, the land beyond the Great Wall can support the soldiers and civilians of several border towns, then...

The situation at that time was that due to the continuous shortage of food in the North, a large amount of food needed by the capital and the troops of the towns had to be transported from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which was costly.What's more, the food in the south of the Yangtze River is getting less and less. Even in the land of Fujian, most of the rice grain has to be obtained from Guangdong.If the Northland can solve the food problem by itself, most of the country's financial crisis will be resolved, and Ming's rule will become more stable.

He hesitated for a while, and said: "I'm afraid that the captives will be nervous, and the border will grow again. The current state of the country is unable to use troops outside the Great Wall."

Huang Laifu said: "The emperor is wise, so the way I came up with is to use merchants as the forerunners to manage the outside of the Great Wall, and then eat away at the whales, and slowly restore the entire Shuofang land. In this way, the country can restore the ancestral land without spending a penny. .Even if there is any movement from the captives, those merchants will be the ones who lose, so I have no worries.”

Emperor Wanli said: "Don't merchants worry about the harassment of captives?"

Huang Laifu said: "The emperor was really worried, but after the battle of Ningxia, the northern captives were afraid of me as a tiger, so they dared not harass them lightly. Even if they harassed, the guards of the merchants were enough to repel them. Besides, the chiefs of the northern captives all over the country They are all greedy people, as long as we give them enough benefits, they will cooperate with us. After all, the captives are not good at farming, and the land is useless to them. Instead of being abandoned, they are happy to exchange some benefits."

Of course, Emperor Wanli understood what Huang Laifu meant by "merchant guards", and he didn't expose it.Since Yang Dawei, a thousand households of Jinyiwei in Wuzhaibao, reported this matter to Emperor Wanli secretly, Emperor Wanli has been paying close attention to it.Huang Laifu used this method to slowly regain the land of Hetao, and Emperor Wanli was also impressed. He was only worried about the reaction of the Mongols, whether it would cause another military disaster, and he really had no money now.After hearing Huang Laifu's words at this time, he felt relieved.

As soon as the worries were gone, another thought came to Emperor Wanli's mind. He said excitedly: "Managing Shuofang's land is a matter of benefiting the country and the people. Huang Aiqing just do it freely, and I will fully support you."

Huang Laifu was overjoyed, the last worry in his heart was all gone, he said loudly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I will fulfill my mission and manage the land outside the Great Wall well."

Emperor Wanli lowered his voice and said, "Is it really so rewarding to operate outside the Great Wall? Those merchants are so flocking to it?"

Huang Laifu also lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty does not know that the land outside the Great Wall is vast and sparsely populated, and there is a lot of land available. In the interior of the Ming Dynasty, even a hundred acres of land, there are countless disputes between the government and the people. Randomly enclosing a thousand or ten thousand mu of land is nothing, no wonder the merchants are so excited."

Emperor Wanli was even more moved, he hesitated to speak.Huang Laifu understood his intentions, and said proudly: "Under the whole world, is it the king's land? On the shore of the land, is it the king's subjects! Those merchants can occupy the land wantonly, the emperor is the master of thousands of subjects, how can... the emperor If you want to set up any Huangzhuang, I can handle it on your behalf, and the land of millions of acres can only be entrusted to you."

In the early Ming Dynasty, there was no distinction between the treasury of the household department of the Ming Dynasty and the treasury of the imperial palace, and any silver used in the palace had to go through the household department.After the mid-Ming Dynasty, due to the gradual tightening of the national finances, the Ministry of Households became more and more stuck on the money spent by the palace.At this time, there were more and more people in the palace, there were tens of thousands of eunuchs and maids, and even countless princes and grandchildren. The money allocated by the household department was a drop in the bucket.

So in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the Huangdian Huangzhuang sprang up and was used for the direct management of the royal family.In the ninth year of Zhengde, there were more than 20 hectares of Huangzhuang land in various places.In addition to the emperor Zhuangtian, there are also some empress dowagers and crown prince Zhuangtian.However, the income is not high. The annual rent collected by the Huangdian is only tens of thousands of taels, and the amount of silver collected by the Huangzhuang Village every year is only [-] taels.Moreover, among the money, if there is any disaster in various places, or if there is any difficulty in the army's food and payment, it is often necessary to allocate funds from the internal treasury.

These so-called Huangdian Huangzhuang had always been the target of the Ming officials' illnesses, although many officials were richer than the royal family.But from Huang Laifu's point of view, he felt it was normal and reasonable.In fact, in later generations, whether it is the British, Japanese, or Thai royal families, their wealth is the highest in the world, not to mention the rich Arab royal families.

However, only Huang Laifu could understand this phenomenon. If the civil servants in the court listened to Huang Laifu's suggestion, it would be inevitable for him to be the number one treacherous official in the world.Fortunately, there are only Emperor Wanli and Huang Laifu in the cabinet at this time, and even all the court ladies and eunuchs have withdrawn, so there is no need to worry about this matter leaking out.

Emperor Wanli looked at Huang Laifu's high-spirited appearance, and felt in his heart that Huang Laifu was indeed a master of management, not like a general.If you only look at his appearance, you will definitely come and be deceived.He nodded with a smile, and said: "In this way, Huang Aiqing is here to help. Huang Aiqing can do things cheaply."

Huang Laifu said: "I have received the decree, and I should do my best to repay the emperor's great kindness."

It is said that things of a kind flock together, and people are divided into groups.Only in front of Huang Laifu, Emperor Wanli dared to talk about money with him so easily. If it was another official, as long as he raised this idea a little, it would definitely be an overwhelming advice to seek death and life.Of course, among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, only Emperor Wanli dared to openly discuss business matters with Huang Laifu in front of a courtier like Huang Laifu. No other emperor could open his mouth like this.

From Huang Laifu's point of view, he is also selfish.

From a shallower point of view, depending on the situation, I will become bigger and bigger in the future, and my influence on Daming will become deeper and deeper. I don't know what the future prospects of myself and my family are, and I will link myself with the interests of the Daming royal family. Together, with me in you and you in me, the safety of the family in the future will be more guaranteed.Even if there is an eventuality, if he manages beyond the Great Wall, he can still leave a way for his descendants in the future. In the future, the descendants will roam around the Great Wall, Southeast Asia, Australia and other places. Even if they go to the Americas, they can keep the family blood.

On a deeper level, the reason why he thinks about Daming in everything is to protect this civilization.Under the nest, how can there be no eggs?If you don’t want your descendants to die under the knives of bandits in the future, or you don’t want your descendants to leave a money rat tail and become pariahs for the Manchurians.Daming, absolutely cannot perish.

At this time, Emperor Wanli became more affectionate to Huang Laifu. After he had finished his calculations, he said strangely: "I don't know one thing. Compared with the land of Wuzhaibao in the northwest of Shanxi, the land in our Huangzhuang is more fertile. Why five Zhaibao has a good harvest every year, but my Huangzhuang Zili is not harvested every year?"

Huang Laifu pondered. According to the relevant historical materials he had read before traveling, and the various historical materials of the Ming Dynasty after traveling, the poor management of Huangzhuang in various places was due to problems with the relevant systems.Generally, there are dozens of people in charge of Huangzhuang, including eunuchs, officials, Zhuangtou, companions, and family members.These people committed crimes, raised taxes arbitrarily, enslaved farmers, and cruelly exploited farmers, which caused the farmers to constantly resist.

Coupled with the fact that Huangzhuang’s management is not the same as that of local farmers, it doesn’t matter whether they work together to build water conservancy or collectively use cattle, etc., it is still the same small-scale farming-like management method, and they are unable to cope with frequent natural disasters.It's no wonder that such a management system can yield a good harvest.

Finally, Huang Laifu sighed, and said: "It's hard to explain in one word. I have to conduct on-the-spot investigations before I can give relevant opinions. But one thing is certain, if I let my ministers run the business, the relevant management must be changed."

Emperor Wanli said: "I intend to hand over Huangzhuang to Huang Aiqing for management after the chaos in North Korea. I don't know what changes Huang Aiqing refers to?"

Huang Laifu was overjoyed, thinking: "The emperor is really becoming more and more dependent on me, and even their private property is entrusted to me to manage."

He thanked Emperor Wanli for his importance to him, and solemnly said: "Taxation, how much silver is handed over every year, and then the management of Huangzhuang is fully in charge of the officials, just like the farmlands of Wuzhaibao. Otherwise, I can't let go , the management of Huangzhuang in various places will not be able to talk about a bumper harvest."

Emperor Wanli nodded, stood up, and paced back and forth in the cabinet with his hands behind his back. Finally, he sighed: "The expenditure of the country is increasing day by day, and the country's resources are getting scarcer. Ping Ningxia, spending millions of dollars, and Ping Korea, I don't know what to do." How much money is spent, the treasury is empty, and the officials of the household department are at a loss what to do, so I don’t know what magic method Huang Aiqing has?"

He should actually ask the Ministry of Households this question, but the officials of the Ministry of Households, big and small, are clearly powerless. Emperor Wanli only hopes that Huang Laifu has some magic tricks.

Seeing Emperor Wanli looking at him expectantly, Huang Laifu's brain also started to work rapidly.The biggest heart trouble of Ming Dynasty is financial constraints, and this problem has been buried since the founding of the country.The various fiscal systems formulated by Ming Taizu were based on the local small-scale peasant economy for taxation. However, after hundreds of years, they have long been unable to adapt to the development of society and cannot be changed.Today's financial rigidity and chaos in the Ming Dynasty have already reached an unimaginable level.

In addition, officials of the Ming Dynasty falsified from top to bottom, the basis for tax collection in the Ming Dynasty, the fields and population in the Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book, are no longer true, and are almost purely fabricated. The population registered in the middle and late Ming Dynasty is not as good as the population in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. What a joke.In fact, with the economic development in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, if there is a good financial system like the later generations, not to mention the current annual income of tens of millions of taels, even the annual tax revenue of hundreds of millions of taels is very easy.

Solving financial problems generally lies in increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. In fact, it is basically impossible for a huge country to reduce expenditure when it develops to a later stage.In September last year, military attaches in the Beijing camp mutinied, and even Zeng Tongheng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, was beaten.

However, in terms of open source, there are also many problems.The biggest aspect of taxation, the acres and grains, is no longer true. Landlords and officials everywhere conceal the land and do not report it, and pass the tax on to the small people. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

There are also commercial taxes in various places, and the profits are all divided up by big businessmen and officials.The sea ban has been lifted long ago, and the sea trade has not benefited the country except for increasing profits for the officials and merchants along the coast.There are also mines in various places, which are also occupied by tyrants and officials from various places, and the country also cannot receive money.What is even more frightening is that these benefited officials and merchants occupy the key points of public opinion. If the country imposes taxes, they will encounter strong backlash, and they will often criticize them by competing for profits with the people.

As for the financial problem, Emperor Wanli in history solved it by asking for mining tax and increasing the three salaries.To be honest, Huang Laifu was very much in favor of discussing taxation for mining. If the matter is handled well, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.But he didn't agree with the increase of three pay.

Thinking of this, Huang Laifu said: "Your Majesty, the issue of national use is complicated, and it is not easy to explain it for a while. If you need to solve the problem of national wealth in the long run, you need to think carefully and write a note. If you only need to solve the current North Korean expenses, I have the right to do it." A solution."

(End of this chapter)