The Ming Dynasty: Starting with Emperor Chongzhen's crackdown on factionalism

The sky outside the window had completely darkened.

The flame of the oil lamp flickered on the paper, casting Chen Zhiyuan's figure, bent over his desk, onto the wall.

He put down his pen and rubbed his aching wrist.

He has already begun formally writing his memorial to the throne.

Chen Zhiyuan re-examined what he had written.

This is neither an ordinary memorial nor a simple policy suggestion.

What he needed to do was to present a completely new cognitive framework to Emperor Chongzhen.

He picked up his pen and continued.

"Your Majesty, I, Chen Zhiyuan, respectfully submit this memorial: Your Majesty has inquired about specific strategies for governing the country. After much deliberation, I deeply feel that the predicament of our Great Ming Dynasty cannot be resolved by any single policy or strategy."

"To find the fundamental method, one must first understand the fundamental principle."

"I now presume to attempt to explain this old ailment with new language, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive my overstepping."

"The fundamental principles I speak of can be divided into three aspects: first, productive forces; second, relations of production; and third, means of production."

Chen Zhiyuan paused for a moment, thinking about how to explain these concepts in language that this era could understand.

"Productivity refers to a nation's ability to generate wealth and create things."

"It refers not only to the skill of craftsmen and the diligence of farmers, but also to the advantages of the tools used, the refinement of the techniques, the quantity of manpower, and the efficiency of their coordination."

"For example, during the Wanli era, the annual cotton cloth production in Songjiang Prefecture reached 20 million bolts, which is a manifestation of productivity."

"However, today, Shaanxi is suffering from a severe drought with no harvest; Henan is plagued by locusts, and the fields are completely destroyed; although there are still tens of thousands of looms in Jiangnan, the heavy taxes have caused three or four out of ten loom owners to flee."

"These are all signs of diminished productivity."

He listed specific numbers.

These were notes he made while reviewing the archives of the Ministry of Revenue and reports from various regions.

"Production relations are the relationships between people in the production process."

"Landlords and tenants, employers and employees, government officials and artisans all belong to this category."

"The relations of production must be compatible with the productive forces, otherwise chaos will inevitably arise. In our Great Ming Dynasty today, land annexation is becoming increasingly rampant. There are many wealthy households in the south who own tens of thousands of acres of land, while in the north, there are millions of farmers who have no place to stand."

"This production relationship has seriously hindered the development of productive forces."

"Tenant taxes can amount to 60-70% of the harvest; how can they be motivated to work diligently?"

"Craftsmen are bound by their craft registration for generations, unable to change professions. How can they have the ambition to innovate?"

Chen Zhiyuan recalled the changes taking place in Europe during the same period.

In the Netherlands, the East India Company, formed by merchants, is reaping huge profits in global trade.

In Britain, the Enclosure Movement, though brutal, provided raw materials and labor for the wool textile industry.

In Italy, bankers have begun using bills of exchange for cross-border settlements.

The relations of production in these places are quietly changing, adapting to the new productive forces.

He continued writing.

"The means of production are what are needed for production."

"Land, water sources, minerals, looms, ships, and money all belong to this category."

"Who owns the means of production and how they are distributed is fundamental to the nation."

"The court is currently in dire financial straits, but the wealth of the world has not disappeared; it has simply circulated in the hands of a few."

"Shanxi merchants' banks held millions of taels of silver, and Yangzhou salt merchants' mansions stretched to the clouds, yet the state found it extremely difficult to collect taxes."

"This is a symptom of a severe imbalance in the distribution of the means of production."

Chen Zhiyuan began to analyze the relationship between the three.

These three ends interact with each other, and are mutually causal.

"The development of productive forces requires a corresponding adjustment of production relations. If production relations remain stubbornly unchanged, they will inevitably stifle productive forces."

"The distribution of the means of production is not only constrained by the relations of production, but also has a reciprocal effect on the relations of production and the productive forces."

He cited specific examples.

"Take the uprising of bandits in Shaanxi as an example. Its root cause was not only natural disaster, but also man-made disaster."

"The land in northern Shaanxi is barren and its productivity is already insufficient. Since the Wanli era, the land occupied by the imperial princes has been increasing day by day. For example, the land occupied by the Prince of Qin in Shaanxi accounted for more than 30% of the cultivated land in Xi'an Prefecture."

"The means of production were concentrated in the hands of a few members of the royal family. Tenants were burdened with heavy taxes, and the production relations were extremely unequal."

"Once a prolonged drought occurs, productivity plummets, tenant farmers are unable to make a living, while the royal family's rent and taxes remain unchanged, and the government continues to urge collection as before."

"As a result, popular uprisings broke out one after another, which was an inevitable consequence of the intensification of the contradictions among the productive forces, relations of production, and means of production."

"Let's take the textile industry in the Jiangnan region as an example. Suzhou, Songjiang and other places have exquisite looms and skilled craftsmen, which originally had extremely high productivity."

"However, the artisan registration system restricted the freedom of artisans, the government-run weaving bureau monopolized high-quality silk materials, and private weaving households needed to obtain a 'weaving permit' to operate. Moreover, there were numerous tax checkpoints. A piece of cotton cloth transported from Songjiang to the capital had to pass through more than ten checkpoints, each of which required paying silver."

"This production relationship and the allocation of the means of production severely restrict the development of productive forces."

"Therefore, although Jiangnan is rich, its potential has not been fully realized, and the imperial court has not been able to obtain much tax revenue."

Chen Zhiyuan knew that Emperor Chongzhen was most concerned with how to increase fiscal revenue, quell the bandits, and resist the Jurchens.

He must connect these theories with practical problems.

"If Your Majesty now wishes to increase the national treasury's revenue, but only knows to increase the taxes on Liaodong, the suppression of rebellions, and the training of soldiers, it will be like draining the pond to catch all the fish. Productivity will be further damaged, there will be more displaced people, and rebellions will be even more severe."

"This is not a fundamental solution."

"The fundamental solution lies in liberating the productive forces, adjusting the relations of production, and redistributing the means of production."

What he wanted was for the emperor to understand this logic first.

Chen Zhiyuan wrote at the end of his memorial:

"Your Majesty has inquired about specific methods, how dare I not speak? However, if we do not first understand this fundamental principle, then any specific method is like a tree without roots; though it may be green for a while, it will eventually wither."

"Tax reduction? If land relations remain unchanged, the tax reduction may not benefit tenant farmers, but may instead end up in the pockets of landlords."

"Training troops? If productivity declines and supplies run out, even well-trained troops will collapse."

"Punish corruption? If the system is not changed, the source of corruption will not be eradicated. For every corrupt official removed, another corrupt official will come along."

"Therefore, I believe that the most urgent task at present is to 'liberate the productive forces'."

"Firstly, limit land ownership. Set upper limits on the amount of land that can be occupied, and impose heavy taxes on those who exceed the limits, or force them to sell their land. Gradually, this will enable farmers to own their own land, and tenant farmers to become owner-cultivators. This is the basis for adjusting production relations."

"Secondly, protect craftsmen. Abolish or relax the hereditary system of craftsmen, allowing them to practice freely and be paid according to their skill level. Encourage the establishment of workshops in the private sector and improve tools. This can stimulate the productivity of handicrafts."

"Thirdly, guide investment. Use tax incentives to guide wealthy merchants to invest their capital in real assets such as land reclamation, water conservancy, mining, metallurgy, and workshops, rather than hoarding and lending. Make the means of production serve production."

"Fourth, simplify administration. Merge miscellaneous levies, clarify taxes and corvée labor, make the burden on ordinary people transparent and fixed, and ensure that those with permanent property have a permanent commitment, so that they will be willing to devote their efforts to intensive land cultivation and tool improvement."

"These four factors are interconnected and require a gradual approach; quick results cannot be sought. However, once the direction is set, perseverance will lead to some progress in ten years, and the decline may be reversed in thirty years."

"If we continue to follow the old ways and patch up the loopholes, I fear that the nation's productivity will decline day by day, production relations will become increasingly strained, and the means of production will become increasingly scarce. Eventually... it will become unmanageable."

Chen Zhiyuan stopped writing at this point.

He didn't write what came after "out of control".

But Emperor Chongzhen should have understood.

At the end of his memorial, he wrote as usual, "Your subject, risking death, respectfully submits this memorial, humbly requesting Your Majesty's judgment," and then signed his name, official title, and date.

The ink has dried.

The memorial, totaling twenty-eight pages, listed seventeen specific cases covering various aspects such as agriculture, handicrafts, commerce, taxation, and land systems.

All examples are real, and the data is verifiable.

Chen Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew that these ideas were being raised at the right time in this era.