The eldest grandson of Emperor Ming Dynasty!

Chapter 176
This has been the most worrying question of all those in power since ancient times.

Thoughts like this are not only in Confucian Analects, but also in books and allusions in more aspects.

Why did Zhu Ying want to take the risk of doing nothing in the world, and open up the wisdom of the people.

In fact, in Zhu Ying's view, the so-called ideological imprisonment is not of much use. The only one who benefits is not the imperial power, but the officials, literati, and even the landlords and squires.

They have monopolized knowledge, just like Yawen, the authority to interpret official notices is in their hands, and ordinary people can't understand them anyway.

This is the blocking of imperial power.

Of course Zhu Yuanzhang is very clear about the rules and regulations, so his decree will be conveyed in the vernacular, so that others have no chance to take advantage of it.

It's just that even so, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think about enlightening the people's wisdom. He is now the emperor and belongs to those with vested interests. Of course, he must protect his own interests first.

However, if the people's wisdom is opened, will there really be continuous rebellions and social unrest?

Zhu Ying doesn't think so.

The experience of later generations told him that those who like to rebel the most are not scholars, but foolish fools.

The so-called righteousness kills more dogs, and it is easier for sensible scholars to maintain social order.

In a certain period of time in later generations, when violence prevails, it is often those children who drop out of school who like to be impulsive the most and become first-class thugs.

Those who honestly attend classes at school, a few go out to fool around every day, and almost most of them are obediently studying.

As the saying goes, a gentleman uses his mouth but does not move his hands, and when a scholar meets a soldier, he cannot explain why.

People who have read books and have knowledge will protect the imperial power even more, and even when more people read books, corrupt officials can be reduced a lot.

Everyone understands the law, and officials can directly sue for misbehavior instead of being deceived.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ying wanted to figure out how to persuade the old man. After pondering for a while, she said:
"Using history as a mirror, you can know the ups and downs. Grandpa came from the end of the Mongol and Yuan Dynasties to the present, and has personally experienced that period of chaos. My grandson asked my grandpa to recall that those who took the lead in rebellion were all scholars. "

"It's still said that these scholars are the most lively. It is better to have no books than to believe in books. Confucianism originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, but my Shenzhou has been making continuous progress since the unification of the first emperor."

"It's the best time for me to be a Ming Dynasty. Without the guidance of the scholar-bureaucrats of the family, it can be said that there is a lot of waste to be done. I can paint on a piece of white paper, and I can do whatever I want."

"Leaving aside, grandpa saw the Sui, Tang, Song and Three Dynasties as the emperor himself, who was bound by many constraints, and the imperial power not going to the countryside has become a potential practice."

"The so-called royal family is just the biggest family."

Zhu Ying said earnestly that the purpose of it was to let the old man recognize her thoughts.

Why is the reform so difficult? The most important thing is to change the traditional thinking and follow different principles, but in this world, whether it is the thinking of literati or the thinking of emperors.

They are all constrained by the predecessors. The reason why the later generations have such a big change is not because of their own changes, but because of the impact of the world, they have to change, have to change.

Don't you see, just the change of the mainstream thinking of the later generations was bought by so many college students and advanced elements with their blood and lives.

Zhu Ying was in a hurry to talk to the old man about these things at this point.

But at this time in the early Ming Dynasty, especially the Hongwu period, it was really the best time for China in ancient and modern times.

It has never been such a good time like the early Ming Dynasty.

There has never been, and there will never be.

Zhu Ying also thought about reforming these things when she came to the throne.

Can he really be compared with the old man? Zhu Ying is not sure. After all, he has never been an emperor, and he doesn't know what the future will hold.

But he knew very well in his heart that if the old man could support his idea in this respect, then the whole matter would become simpler.

With the old man's current power, there is no reason in this world to object.

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished listening, he began to think seriously.

The things that Dasun said were things that Zhu Yuanzhang had never thought about in his life. Although Zhu Yuanzhang had some resistance in his heart at first reaction, this was completely different from his thoughts.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, or in the hearts of all emperors before Zhu Yuanzhang and after Qin Shihuang, the so-called emperor's thought of family, country and world has been deeply ingrained.

This Great Ming belongs to the old Zhu family, it is now, and it must be in the future.

Whether it is the system established by Zhu Yuanzhang, whether it is the massacre of heroes, or the arrangements of various aspects, it is all for the continuous maintenance of this family.

But what Dasun said is a completely different way of thinking. It is a truth that no one has ever gone through before. It needs to overcome obstacles, and it is even full of danger.

He can't see success on this road, because there is no precedent for it.

All Zhu Yuanzhang could see was the innumerable dangers, the dangers that would shake the foundation of the old Zhu family's Daming.

Doing this way, according to Dasun's idea, will naturally make the whole Da Ming take off.

When Dasun said these words, Zhu Yuanzhang could also feel the confidence in those words, as if he could see the future of Ming Dynasty.

But it's really worth it to take such a big risk.

Daming is already very big, so big that no matter who it is, it will never be able to complete the territory of Daming in a lifetime. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang is already satisfied with such a vast territory.

All the territory belonging to the Han people has already belonged to the direct rule of Ming Dynasty.

With the millions of lions in Ming Dynasty now, after a few battles, there is no doubt that more territory can be obtained.

Zhu Yuanzhang is confident that he only needs one decree to go on. Given the current military situation of Ming Dynasty, he has not seen an opponent who can be compared.

It's just that the territory is too vast, and it is more difficult to govern, and it will even make the burden on the Ming treasury heavier.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated.

Even if it is the eldest grandson who loves the most, he just keeps silent instead of supporting the eldest grandson.

A trace of disappointment flashed in Zhu Ying's eyes. Although this was already expected, the old man's silence made Zhu Ying understand the old man's thoughts.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who hadn't planned to express his opinion at first, suddenly felt distressed when he saw the lonely look in his grandson's eyes.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized a problem.

He is old, not as aggressive as when he was young, and being safe and stable seems to be more important to him.

But Dasun is not, Dasun is talented, and Dasun's ideas are far more intelligent than ordinary people.

From the many suggestions before, the learning situation, including the brilliant achievements since the age of ten, it is enough to prove that in many aspects, Dasun is not just talking about it, but is thinking and pondering seriously.

Da Sun is so good, why should he stop him? Even if the reform fails, can't he afford to lose?

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Ying in a deep voice: "We have never heard of the grandson's idea, and we don't know what will happen in the future, but we are your grandfather, and our bones are still strong."

"No matter what grandson thinks, go ahead and do it. We will support you from behind. Even if you fail, we, the grandpa, will wipe your ass."

Having said this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed.

Before the eldest grandson was about three or four years old, many of them were their own grandfathers, and they wiped the eldest grandson's ass by themselves.

Now that he has grown up, he naturally still has to be his grandfather to wipe his grandson's ass, and no one else is qualified to do so.

Zhu Ying looked at the old man with a little surprise. He had already given up. Unexpectedly, the old man suddenly agreed with his idea in a turn of events.

"Grandpa, please rest assured that no matter what aspect it is, grandson will never make drastic changes and affect the foundation of Ming Dynasty. Take it one step at a time, and make steady progress."

Zhu Ying said solemnly that he himself is not a reckless person, and naturally he will not easily affect too major reforms, but will take his time like boiling a frog in warm water.

The reason why the matchlock gun was developed in the first place instead of agricultural manufacturing was based on the current national conditions of Ming Dynasty.

In Zhu Ying's thinking, wars that are too large cannot be fought, but small-scale battles are completely fine.

In this way, the internal contradictions of the Ming Dynasty can be gradually transferred to the outside. The biggest key is to maintain the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the army.

A soldier who has not experienced the baptism of war can only be a new recruit forever. Once an emergency occurs, he is not at the same level as a veteran.

Moreover, with a matchlock gun, it can also quickly quell some minor turmoil within Daming.

Hearing Dasun's answer, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded lightly. He was very relieved of Dasun's calm temperament. Today's Dasun did not give him any youthful impulse and blood.

On the contrary, he was as old as himself, an old guy in his 70s and [-]s, too old-fashioned.

Sighing slightly in his heart, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his current temper was the result of his grandson's life and death. He had experienced too many things, so he would naturally become calm.

Now that the old man approved it, Zhu Ying didn't want to talk too much about it, because the atmosphere was too heavy.

Instead, he asked: "Grandpa, isn't the current state treasury's income a relatively heavy burden? Nowadays, there are not a few fertile fields in Daming. Why does it feel like it's stretched?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said: "If you are not in charge of your family, you don't know how to use food, rice, oil and salt. If the weather is good, the current situation in Ming Dynasty is of course not a problem. It's just that God is too unbeautiful."

"You don't know. Now every year, there are constant famines in various places, and the money and food for disaster relief account for almost half of the national treasury's annual revenue. That is to say, the chief secretary of Henan, just from the Yellow River's embankment burst in February this year until now."

"Before and after, the food for disaster relief has been transported at least a million stones. Now that the autumn food has not arrived, it is all stored food. It happens to be stuck at this point."

Hearing the old man's explanation, Zhu Ying said that she could understand that this year Henan was a major disaster-stricken area with constant famines.

And this kind of maintenance is not just for now. The autumn grain in Henan must have dropped sharply. In winter, we can only rely on the imperial court to mobilize food support from all over the world to survive.

It has to be maintained until next year's summer grain harvest in order to stabilize.

The key lies in the fact that the disaster must pass, otherwise there will be another wave, which is equivalent to worsening the situation, and the situation will be even more difficult.

"The family is big and the business is big, that's it. Tomorrow, let's ask the Ministry of Households to bring the situation of the treasury to my grandson, so I will naturally understand the difficulties in our hearts."

"Those expenses, we will have a headache just looking at them."

In front of the eldest grandson, Zhu Yuanzhang was much more relaxed when speaking, and he had nothing to worry about.

Daming's annual income last year was about 3000 million shi, taxes and food, which seemed huge, but the expenses were also very large.

The biggest expense among them is naturally the armaments.

A soldier needs two stones and three liters a month, which is 27 stones and six liters a year. Today, the standing army of the Ming Dynasty is about 120 million.

When there is no war, the soldiers farm the fields, and most of them are self-sufficient.

It's just that with such a large army, hundreds of thousands are mobilized for local operations, and the military pay is at least tens of millions of shi every year.

This is only calculated based on the lowest rations of the main soldiers. In fact, according to the rank of the army, of course there will be more middle-level officers.

About half of the annual revenue, taxes and grains are spent on military pay.

Then there are the salaries of officials, and there are huge other expenses.

In fact, based on this calculation, it seems that there is still some left, but in fact this is already the highest annual income. In the years when the Ming Dynasty was founded, taxes and food were pitifully small.

The current annual income has to be used to repay the previous shortfall.

For a famine as big as that in Henan, this year only a large-scale tax exemption can be maintained until the famine passes.

Henan only has more than 200 million shi of tax and food a year, and now it has only been more than four months since February alone, and more than 200 million shi has been lost to disaster relief.

Among them is the attrition of the disaster relief army, which means that the victims cannot generate income at present and can only be supported by the imperial court.

"Actually, my grandson has some different ideas about taxation. Grandpa will listen to it and see if it can be implemented." Zhu Ying thought it over and said.

"My grandson, tell me quickly." Zhu Yuanzhang asked immediately, his eyes lit up.

Regarding the collection of taxes and grains, Zhu Yuanzhang had a headache, and he made repeated revisions in terms of implementation.

Now Daming implements a unique 'grain length system'.

In the fourth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Ministry of Households to calculate the land tax of the prefectures and counties, and took [-] shi of grain as a district, and selected the landlord who had "more land" as the head of grain, and was responsible for the supervision and payment of the land tax in the district.

The land tax collected by the Long Levy of Grain is divided into "reserved grain" and "transported grain".

Among them, those transported to the capital are called Jing Yun, and those transported to other local guards are called "Dial", and the "Jing Yun" part is escorted by the food chief himself.

The head of grain was paid extremely generously. Zhu Yuanzhang often summoned those who transported grain to the capital on time and rewarded them for their work. Talented people could stay as officials.

For example, Yan Zhen, the grain chief of Wucheng, won Zhu Yuanzhang's reward for "delivering grain first every year". He is currently entrusted to the chief secretary to participate in politics.

In the eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang also gave the grain chief the privilege of reducing crimes in the law.

The grain chief is not only responsible for transporting grain, but also responsible for other local functions related to farming.

Zhu Ying also has a certain understanding of the current tax situation in Ming Dynasty, and what he wants to mention today is the issue of the Dingyin system.

Without any hesitation, Zhu Ying solemnly said to the old man: "If you spread out your family, you will never be rewarded."

(End of this chapter)