Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

Five days ago, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War completed the distribution of extra salaries to the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison.

Furthermore, the military merit statistics were completed, and all those who deserved rewards were rewarded.

In this battle to defend Beijing, the surviving soldiers received several times, or even ten times, their previous salaries.

The families of those soldiers who died in battle had no worries about food and clothing.

Especially after learning that Zhu Qiyu had emptied the imperial treasury to distribute this money.

Some emotional people were even moved to tears.

In Xing'an's reply to Zhu Qiyu, "If Your Majesty were to say now that you want to attack the Oirat, they wouldn't even flinch."

And this is the source of Zhu Qiyu's current confidence.

A few days later in Zhangjiawan, Tongzhou.

The canal docks were bustling with activity.

Dozens of cargo ships docked one after another, and the boatmen shouted as they unloaded their cargo.

The dock was piled high with grain, cloth, farm tools and other supplies.

Officials were taking inventory and registering items, while constables were maintaining order.

At the other end of the pier, a group of ragged people were queuing to board the ship.

They brought their families along, carrying tattered bags, their faces weathered by hardship.

Shen Yi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood on the dock, holding a thick booklet in his hands and checking the list.

A minor official ran over to report: "Minister Shen, the third batch of refugees has been counted."

A total of 1,237 people have had their travel permits verified and have been given rations.

Shen Yi nodded: "Let them board the ship."

Tell the boatmen to be careful on their journey and not to mistreat the people.

The minor official accepted the order and left.

Shen Yi sighed softly as he watched the refugees boarding the ship.

Starting in late October, the imperial court began a large-scale repatriation of displaced people.

To date, more than 100,000 displaced people have been repatriated to their hometowns.

Shen Yi traveled daily between city gates, docks, and post stations to verify rosters, count heads, and distribute rations.

I lost weight in a month.

But his spirits were much better than before.

When the refugees boarded the ship, they would turn back and bow to him.

They would say "Thank you, sir," expressing their gratitude in the simplest way.

As Shen Yi watched the boats slowly leave the shore, a sense of emotion suddenly welled up in his heart.

He suddenly understood why Jin Lian had made him do these things.

It's not to make him suffer.

It was so that he would know.

Every tael of silver and every bushel of grain supplied to the Ministry of Revenue came from these ordinary people.

Ultimately, it will be used on these ordinary people.

That evening, after returning to the capital, Shen Yi went straight to the back hall of the Ministry of Revenue.

Jin Lian was reviewing documents at his desk when he saw him enter. He looked up and asked, "How was today?"

Shen Yi cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Minister Jin, 1,237 refugees have been repatriated today."

The third batch of refugees has all boarded the ship and is expected to arrive in Hejian Prefecture in three days.

The relevant prefectures and counties along the route have been notified and will send personnel to receive and accommodate them.

Jin Lian nodded: "Okay, what about the fourth batch?"

Shen Yi said: "The fourth batch of refugees were mostly from Shandong, numbering about 13,000."

The Ministry of Revenue is verifying the roster and distributing rations.

Repatriation is expected to begin in three days.

Jin Lian looked at Shen Yi: "Minister Shen, you've had a hard time these past few days."

Shen Yi quickly replied, "I dare not complain. I only regret that I am too ignorant and unable to share more of His Majesty's and the court's burdens."

Jin Lian shook his head: "You've done very well."

Shen Yi's face flushed slightly.

Jin Lian continued, "Being an official and doing things are two different things."

Officials only care about what their superiors want, only follow the rules, and only seek to avoid making mistakes.

Those who take action must consider the circumstances below them, be willing to break the rules, and dare to take responsibility.

You used to be an official, now you're doing real work.

This is a good thing.

Shen Yi raised his head, a faint glint in his eyes: "Minister Jin's teachings will be remembered by this humble official."

Jin Lian nodded: "Go ahead, get some rest, you have a lot of things to do tomorrow."

Shen Yi bowed deeply and then stepped back.

Jin Lian watched his retreating figure and smiled softly.

Although Shen Yi is of average talent, he is honest and hardworking.

Given time, he may very well become a good minister.

On the same day, in the southwest suburbs of Beijing.

Hundreds of people are building shacks on a piece of wasteland.

This is where the imperial court resettles homeless refugees.

The wasteland was allocated by the imperial court.

The shacks were built with funds from the imperial court.

The seeds and farming tools were loaned to the government and would be returned after the autumn harvest the following year.

These hundreds of people are busy on their own land.

One of the men was named Zhao Daniu, 35 years old, from Datong Prefecture, Shanxi Province.

In August, the Oirat Mongols invaded, and his village was completely looted.

My parents died under the swords of the soldiers, and our house was burned to the ground.

He fled to Beijing with his wife and three children.

I spent two months in the refugee camp outside the city.

I thought I wouldn't survive.

Unexpectedly, the imperial court said that homeless people could stay in the suburbs of the capital and be allocated wasteland for reclamation.

Zhao Daniu couldn't believe his ears.

wasteland?

That's your lifeline.

He farmed in his hometown his whole life.

They rented land from landlords, and after paying the rent each year, the remaining grain was barely enough to feed themselves.

The imperial court is actually giving away wasteland?

He signed up without hesitation.

Three days later, he was taken to this wasteland on the outskirts of Beijing.

The officials pointed to the wooden stakes stuck in the ground and said, "This ten-mu plot of land is yours."

The grain lost before the autumn harvest will be replenished after next year's autumn harvest.

Taxes will be levied starting the year after next, with a 50% reduction for the first three years.

Zhao Daniu was stunned for a long time, then knelt down and kowtowed.

Although it is winter, it is not the season for planting.

But he had already been working enthusiastically on this land for five days.

The wasteland was difficult to cultivate, overgrown with weeds and littered with stones.

This meant that it was destined to be difficult to cultivate this land.

But he wasn't afraid of hardship; he was only afraid of not having land to cultivate.

A woman came over and handed him a bowl of water: "Husband, take a rest."

Zhao Daniu took the bowl and gulped down several mouthfuls, then wiped his mouth and said, "Wife, look, although this land is barren, the soil is fertile."

We can plant grain next spring.

In three to five years, our family will be able to live a good life!

Looking at this wasteland, Zhao Daniu suddenly felt an unprecedented surge of hope.

He suddenly remembered the villagers who had died under the Oirat knives.

If only they could escape and get some wasteland too.

He sighed and picked up the hoe again.

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qiyu was reading a report.

That was the progress report on the resettlement of displaced people submitted by the Ministry of Revenue.

As of November 19th.

A total of more than 173,000 refugees were repatriated.

Eighty-six thousand shi of grain were distributed.

Forty-three thousand taels of silver were distributed as travel expenses.

More than 47,000 homeless people were resettled.

123,000 mu of wasteland were allocated.

More than 8,000 shacks were built.

The seeds and farm tools were loaned out for 15,000 taels of silver.

It is expected that all displaced people will be resettled by early December.

Zhu Qiyu nodded slightly after reading the report.

Cheng Jing whispered from the side, "Your Majesty, Vice Minister Shen of the Ministry of Revenue has been running around to various city gates and docks every day these days, and he has lost a lot of weight."

Minister Jin said that Vice Minister Shen is like a completely different person now.

Shen Yi had previously left a very bad impression on Zhu Qiyu.

He initially said he would burn all the grain in Tongzhou.

This led Zhu Qiyu to suspect that he was a member of the faction advocating for the southward relocation.

Later, when the government sold grain to stabilize prices, several major grain merchants "purchased" grain from the imperial court and then resold it at higher prices.

Zhu Qiyu smiled slightly: "Good change!"

I want them all to be replaced.

Those who just coasted along in the past—either replace them or change their mindset.