The fierce grandson of the Ming Dynasty

In fact, the situation of wealthy people evading taxes by taking advantage of the privileges of the imperial relatives, resulting in the loss of tax revenue for the imperial court, was a recurring phenomenon throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Even in later generations, many people said that the imperial family was a cancer that led to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty.

Little did people know that the powerful gentry and noble class was the root cause of the Ming Dynasty's downfall!

The existence of this tax-free privilege was none other than the work of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the mid-to-late Hongwu period, after discovering the hidden dangers, the system was quickly changed to a fixed annual salary, thus closing the loophole for tax exemption for meritorious officials!

During the reigns of Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, the ancestral rules established by the late Zhu Yuanzhang were loosened, and the practice of powerful officials requesting land became increasingly common. The practice of offering land as gifts among the common people also re-emerged.

When the God of War of Tumu Fortress, the Oirat student, the door-knocking emperor, and Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Zhu Qizhen, ascended the throne, a large-scale outbreak began, until finally the offerings became rampant.

During the Chenghua and Zhengde periods, "once the source of corruption was opened, it became inexhaustible," and the situation was completely out of control.

During the Jiajing and Wanli reigns, the preferential treatment system was completely distorted, and the practice of offering gifts was no longer limited to the imperial relatives and clansmen, but spread to the entire gentry class.

Especially during the reign of Emperor Wanli (Zhu Yijun), compared to previous emperors, he treated scholars and officials with even greater favor. For example, a first-rank official in the capital could be exempted from 10,000 mu of land, and even an ordinary student could be exempted from 80 mu of land...

Wouldn't this abolish the land tax system?

Even with figures like Zhang Juzheng, who attempted to turn the tide through reforms such as the Single Whip Law and land surveys, the situation remained dire.

But since the powerful interest groups are already united, who can shake them?

Ultimately, this is just treating the symptoms, not the root cause!

It was even more difficult to change the inevitable fate of the Ming Dynasty's demise.

Zhu Yuanzhang's words today.

After the grain theft case, Cheng realized the reality and wanted to take the opportunity to plug the loopholes.

The "Hongwu Zhengfu" mentioned earlier also incorporated the strategies of Zhu Xiong Ying, the eldest grandson, based on the actual situation.

But that wasn't all. Old Zhu changed the subject, narrowed his eyes, faced the assembled officials, and said, "Besides the act of offering land as tribute, which is a deception of the court."

"Let me add one more thing! For most of my life, I've never let my brothers down, the ones who fought alongside me to build this empire!"

"We've already set the tax exemptions you're entitled to, and no one will touch them. But any land exceeding the quota will be treated the same as civilian land. Anyone who dares to disobey will be met with complaints in the palace later..."

These are Yu Xungui's private actions in recent years.

Zhu Yuanzhang had heard about it long ago.

I originally intended to give them a warning.

Therefore, today, he has also summoned most of the founding ministers here to give them a heads-up.

Led by Xu Da, Tang He, and others, the civil and military officials stepped forward simultaneously and said, "Yes!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and continued, "Thirdly, we will start with a pilot program in Jiangnan. In the future, when farmers pay taxes, they will need to take the 'Easy-to-Pay Form' issued by the Ministry of Revenue directly to the grain and silver vaults of the prefecture and county, hand over the sealed grain bags themselves, and have the officials inspect and stamp them on the spot. The grain chiefs and village heads will only be responsible for urging the collection..."

"Furthermore, additional officials should be appointed at the county seat to avoid registering their residence, with the rank of ninth grade, to assist the county magistrate, assistant magistrate, registrar, and clerk in supervising and managing this matter. These officials will be appointed and dismissed by the Ministry of Personnel. If there are insufficient personnel, they can be selected from the current year's Jinshi graduates and graduates of the Imperial Academy, and will be evaluated and promoted within two years!"

"The collected taxes and silver will be collected uniformly at the prefectural level and handed over to the officers and soldiers of the garrisons along the route, who will be responsible for transporting them into the national treasury. The corresponding losses will be uniformly assessed by the imperial court!"

"Furthermore, the loss per shi (a unit of dry measure) shall not exceed two liters; any excess shall be compensated by officials and soldiers, and shall not be forcibly levied on the people..."

Historically, the actual change to the grain chief system only came during the Yongle reign.

During the Jiajing era, the method of official collection and official settlement was finally attempted to be implemented!

This experience has highlighted the severity of corruption at the grassroots level, particularly the collusion among lower-level officials.

Then I thought of what Sun Yat-sen said: "Empty talk harms the country, hard work builds it," and the extension of the Single Whip Law...

Old Zhu pondered for two whole months before finally making up his mind.

He made some adjustments to the system he had personally established, improved the county-level administrative functions, and reclaimed some of the power of lower-level clerks.

"All accounting records should encompass four levels: the Ministry of Revenue, the Provincial Administration Commission, the prefectures, and the counties, and should adopt the double-entry bookkeeping method that we previously informed the Ministry of Revenue about!"

"Every single expense, from its origin to its destination, must be written down clearly and precisely, and everything must match up! The Censorate will reconcile the accounts monthly and conduct a final review annually. If any discrepancies are found, the person will be immediately arrested and interrogated, and the Ministry of Justice must cooperate fully!"

"All matters we've discussed will be fully entrusted to the Crown Prince for supervision and coordination... Is that clear?"

The discussion covered double-entry bookkeeping, among other things.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed with admiration: "Our grandson has so many ideas! In the past month, even those in charge have been ashamed of their own ingenuity!"

These matters, when heard by the court officials, immediately put them under immense pressure.

After conducting a large-scale anti-corruption campaign in the Six Ministries and government offices at all levels, the Emperor is now going to intensify the crackdown on these officials!

Who dares to raise an objection?

Do you still want to live?

You can't just sit back and accept it!

A few breaths passed.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Left Censor-in-Chief Zhan Hui, and Minister of Revenue Ren Ang, along with other ministerial officials, all bowed and said, "Your subjects obey the imperial decree!"

After the officials received the decree...

The Guo Huan case has come to a temporary close, but it is far from over.

The current court debate is not just about the grain theft case.

Furthermore, smallpox vaccination for young children was first implemented in the capital and surrounding areas.

Then, when Lao Zhu asked about the progress of smallpox vaccination.

When they heard that Chang Mao had adopted the method of "giving eggs for smallpox vaccination", he attracted a large number of villagers to voluntarily register with the government.

As the assembled officials watched, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his throne, his expression much more relaxed. He said, "When did Chang Da become so clever? If he had this kind of drive in the past, how could he have messed up so many things for us?"

As for the two sons of Chang Yuchun, his old in-law, the eldest is Chang Mao and the second is Chang Sheng.

Old Zhu has always attached great importance to this.

Unfortunately, both brothers were brave and skilled, but they were spoiled by Rong En and became somewhat unambitious!

Upon hearing his father's assessment of his brother-in-law, Zhu Biao quickly defended him, saying, "Father, please calm down! The Duke of Zheng is still young and impetuous; he'll surely grow better as he gets older!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "I only hope that, as the Crown Prince says, Chang Da and the others can mature and stop causing us worry!"

……

is the day.

The events that occurred in the palace quickly spread to the homes of court officials and nobles, causing considerable panic.

It was only in the evening, when Zhu Xiong Ying overheard his grandfather Zhu and Empress Ma chatting, that he learned that his grandfather had quietly accomplished such a "great thing".

Clearly, his words were not in vain.

Moreover, from the perspective of outsiders, changing the current tax system may face enormous resistance!

But for Lao Zhu, none of these matters!

Given enough time, the corresponding benefits will naturally become apparent and will benefit the imperial court!

The only thing that worried and disappointed him was that his grandfather still did not give enough attention to the issue of paper money.

With such a hidden danger lurking in the air, I still can't help but feel uneasy.

On second thought, since it wouldn't work with Old Zhu, I could only try to find a way to get in touch with the Emperor, the Vice Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the father of Crown Prince Biao!