Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

(Sorry for the long wait. Some details in the update during the Chinese New Year period may not have been fully verified due to insufficient research. Please point out any errors, and I will correct them as soon as I see them. Thank you!)

In the office of the Ministry of Justice, a clerk was sorting through the memorials that had just been received.

These memorials came from all over the country.

There are reports from local officials.

There is military intelligence from the border.

There were also congratulatory messages from the Prince's Mansion.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a memorial to the throne.

The cover of the memorial read: "Respectfully submitted by Dai Wang Shiyuan."

The clerk was taken aback for a moment, then quickly took the memorial and went inside.

The Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review was drinking tea in the back hall when a clerk rushed in and frowned, asking, "What's the matter?"

The clerk presented the memorial: "Your Excellency, this is the memorial from the Prince of Dai."

The Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review took a look and his expression changed slightly.

Prince Zhu Shizhuan of Dai is in Beijing at this moment.

The prince went to the capital in August to "pay his respects" and stayed for more than a month.

Aside from sending a few congratulatory letters as a matter of routine, he never submitted any formal memorials to the emperor.

The reform of the imperial clan is currently causing a great uproar, and he just happened to submit his memorial at this time...

After a moment's hesitation, the Commissioner of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices said in a low voice, "Send it to the Cabinet, and also send someone to inform the Directorate of Ceremonial."

Half an hour later, the memorial was placed on Chen Xun's desk.

Chen Xun frowned as he looked at the words on the envelope.

As the Grand Secretary, he should have drafted this memorial.

But he was all too aware of the weight of this memorial.

This is the first official memorial from a prince since the reform of the imperial clan system.

He opened the memorial and read it line by line.

It begins with routine greetings and pleasantries, then the tone shifts abruptly:

"I have heard that the court is discussing changing the system of stipends for members of the imperial clan."

The annual stipends of princes, dukes, generals, and lieutenants will be reduced by 30%, and those below the rank of lieutenant in Fengguo will be stripped of their titles and reduced to commoners.

Your humble servant is ignorant and dares not comment on the appropriateness of this matter.

However, there are several matters that I must present to Your Majesty.

"My fief is Datong Weizhou, which is close to the border."

Every year, enemy cavalry invaded, causing people to be displaced and border supplies to be depleted.

There were more than 370 officials, including princes, generals, and lieutenants.

The annual stipends for rice were all provided by the imperial court.

However, this has continued from the thirteenth year of the Zhengtong reign until now.

The actual amount of rice paid was less than 70% of the quota.

The missing amount will be paid out in paper money.

However, the circulation of paper money in border areas is less than one-tenth of what it used to be.

They brought money into the market, but the people there refused to accept it.

If one pays taxes in cash, the government will not accept it.

It's nominally the full amount, but in reality, it's been reduced by half.

"I once asked whether the annual salary of a lieutenant of the state was sufficient."

He replied: "My annual salary is two hundred bushels of grain, but I actually receive less than fifty. The rest is paid in paper money."

The paper money was useless, so he sold it to merchants, getting no more than ten taels of silver in return.

How can ten taels of silver support a family of ten?

I was deeply saddened to hear this.

"The imperial court has now revised the system of stipends for members of the imperial clan, reducing the stipends of princes and below by 30%."

If, after the reduction, the payment is still made in paper money as before, then they will actually receive no more than 40% of the current fixed amount.

With only 40% of my salary, how can I support my family?

I fear that they will starve to death in ditches before they even have their titles stripped away and become commoners.

"Your Majesty, I risk my life to speak this out. If Your Majesty insists on implementing the policy of reducing salaries, I dare not disobey."

I only wish that Your Majesty would remember that they are of the same lineage as Your Majesty, descended from Emperor Taizu.

An imperial edict ordered the Ministry of Revenue to ensure that all reduced salaries were paid in full with grain, rice, and cloth, and that no paper money could be used to offset them.

In this way, even though their salaries are reduced, they can still survive.

Your Majesty's familial affection can also be preserved.

Chen Xun remained silent for a long time after reading the memorial.

This is not a memorial opposing the reform.

This is a petition for "survival".

The Prince of Dai did not say that "reducing the salary is wrong".

He said, "Reducing salaries is acceptable, but please give real money, not worthless paper."

Chen Xun sighed softly.

This is the truly deadly thing.

The court officials were making a ruckus.

What they are fighting for is ancestral tradition, rules, and interests.

But for those royal family members living on the frontier, even getting enough to eat was a luxury.

Chen Xun picked up his pen and drafted a proposal on the memorial: "Your subject believes that what the Prince of Dai has stated is true. Please instruct the Six Ministries to discuss and deal with it."

Then he summoned the Imperial Secretary: "Send this to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs immediately."

In the Qianqing Palace, Xing'an entered and reported: "Your Majesty, the memorial sent by the Grand Secretariat was submitted by the Prince of Dai."

Zhu Qiyu raised his head: "The Prince of Dai?"

He took the memorial and read it line by line.

As he looked at it, his brows furrowed.

It wasn't because of the Prince of Dai's opinion on the reforms.

It was because of what the Prince of Dai had said.

Less than 50% of the stipends were actually paid in rice, and the paper money was essentially worthless.

The family of Lieutenant Fengguo, consisting of ten people, earned no more than ten taels of silver a year.

What can you do with ten taels of silver?

An ordinary waiter in a Beijing restaurant can earn five or six taels of silver a year for his wages and food.

The salary of a seventh-rank county magistrate is equivalent to forty-five taels of silver.

Zhu Qiyu sighed.

His reforms this time are aimed at liberating these kinds of people.

Zhu Qiyu put down the memorial and asked, "Where is the Prince of Dai now?"

Xing'an hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Dai entered the capital in August."

He always lived in the Wangfu Villa in Dengshikou.

I haven't left the house these days, only receiving a few chief secretaries from the Prince's residence.

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Issue my decree that I will summon the Prince of Dai to the Wenhua Hall at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."

Xing'an was taken aback: "Your Majesty, this..."

Zhu Qiyu looked at him: "What?"

Xing'an said in a low voice, "The Prince of Dai is, after all, a prince. His Majesty summoned him to the Wenhua Hall, so the proper etiquette is..."

Zhu Qiyu waved his hand: "I know his identity."

I want to see him.

This man is more reliable than those ministers who only know how to spout ancestral rules.

The next day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Qiyu sat behind his desk, looking at his uncle.

His fiefdom was in Weizhou, Datong, one of the nine important border towns.

Every year, small groups of Tatar cavalry would invade.

His vassal state was a true "frontier vassal".

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Qiyu raised his hand: "Rise, please take a seat."

The Prince of Dai expressed his gratitude and sat on one side of the brocade stool.

Zhu Qiyu got straight to the point: "I have read the Prince of Dai's memorial."

I already know what you've said.

Have you ever submitted a memorial to the emperor before?

The Prince of Dai was silent for a moment: "Your subject... has already spoken."

In the spring of the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the Zhengtong reign.

I have twice submitted memorials requesting that the full amount of rice stipends for border vassals be distributed and that the practice of using paper money as a form of payment be abolished.

Both memorials...were kept in the middle and not issued.

Zhu Qiyu nodded.

Keeping things in reserve and not issuing them was the norm during Zhu Qizhen's era, or rather, the norm for Wang Zhen.

Zhu Qiyu looked at the Prince of Dai: "This time, your memorial was not against reducing salaries, but rather a request to reduce the actual amount of money you receive after the emperor's death."

The Prince of Dai bowed deeply: "Your Majesty is wise."

I dare not discuss the important policies of the court; I only pray that the members of the imperial family in the border regions can survive.

If their salaries are reduced by 30%, and they are actually paid in grain, they can still barely make ends meet.

If we still use paper money to offset the debt, I fear…

Zhu Qiyu did not answer immediately.

He looked at the Prince of Dai with a complicated expression.

This prince isn't here to cause trouble; he's here to tell the truth.

After a long silence, Zhu Qiyu slowly spoke: "Prince Dai, do you know how many people in the court will criticize you after your memorial is submitted?"

The Prince of Dai raised his head: "Your subject understands."

"Aren't you afraid?"

The Prince of Dai smiled bitterly: "I am afraid, but I am even more afraid that those lieutenants of Fengguo will starve to death at their doorsteps."

"I am the Prince of Weizhou in Datong. My relatives in my territory are starving. I cannot pretend not to see it."

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Alright, I will give you an answer."

He looked at Xing'an beside him: "Transmit my imperial edict, ordering the Ministry of Revenue to quickly discuss the regulations for the actual distribution of stipends and rice to the border vassals."

From the first year of the Jingtai reign onwards, all members of the imperial clan, from the rank of Zhenguo Zhongwei downwards, were included.

All payments must be made in the form of grain, rice, and cloth; no paper money may be used as payment.

Xing'an bowed and said, "As you command."

The Prince of Dai was stunned for a moment, then rose and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Zhu Qiyu looked at him and said, "Get up."

"I'm not doing this for you; my empire cannot be left to starve."

The Prince of Dai stood up, his eyes slightly red.

Zhu Qiyu then said, "I am determined to reform the imperial clan."

The salary reduction of 30% will not be changed.

But I have remembered what you said today.

"If any members of the imperial family in the border regions encounter difficulties in the future, you can submit a memorial directly without needing to intervene."

The Prince of Dai bowed deeply: "Your subject will remember."

As he walked out of the Wenhua Hall, the King looked up at the sky.

The warm autumn sun shone directly on him.

He thought of the home of the lieutenant of Fengguo in Weizhou.

I remember that middle-aged man who was too embarrassed to go out in his tattered robe.

When he gets back, he can tell him: From now on, the stipend will be paid in full, and there will be no more scrap paper payments.

As for the reduction of salary by 30%.

Let's reduce it then.

It's better than starving to death.