Chongzhen: I am the king of prosperous times

Chapter 615 Finance (1)

"Your Majesty, clear up all the lands occupied by the feudal vassals in Henan. From now on, the government will strictly investigate the official lands in various places." Bi Ziyan said as he walked closely behind Emperor Chongzhen.

"It's just one area in Henan. Through the investigation of the Kaifeng government, I estimate that millions of acres of land can be cleared. Only for these acres of land, the state government can collect at least 10 taels of silver every year.

This is not counting the population tax.

In the past, the imperial court had been too lax in monitoring the suzerains and vassals in various places, otherwise the problem would not have been so serious, and the taxes and duties set by the imperial court would not have been damaged. "

"Does the Qing family think that the matter investigated in Henan exists in other prefectures and counties of Daming?"

Emperor Chongzhen stopped, looked at Bi Ziyan and said: "In the past, Sun Chuanting investigated this matter in Henan, and through the Henan Disaster Relief Administration, he wanted to file a lawsuit with the feudal lords, which caused an uproar.

I was a little puzzled at the beginning, why some ministers in the court acted so excitedly, but with the deepening of the investigation, I finally understood.

Most of the large land occupied in Henan was occupied by suzerains and vassals from various places, but some of the land was occupied by officials, gentry, landlords and other groups. "

Bi Ziyan nodded in approval.

Things like land annexation have always been repeatedly prohibited, and have existed since the Ming Dynasty, but the degree of annexation is serious.

"Bi Qing is the treasurer of my Ming Dynasty. Come and tell me, like Henan's in-depth investigation of the land occupation by the feudal vassals. After finding out the corresponding situation, should it be over? Or should the investigation continue?"

Emperor Chongzhen lifted up the sleeves of his robe, and continued: "Just like what Han Yu and Zhou Daodeng said in the Wenhua Palace, although I was very angry after hearing this, I still have to face the reality that I should face.

If the number of groups involved increases and the imperial court cannot bear such a great pressure, which leads to bad things happening, what should the imperial court do? "

Emperor Chongzhen must do a deep investigation into the land occupation by the vassals of the Ming Dynasty. After all, this involves the tax and service system of the Ming Dynasty and the financial system of the Ming Dynasty.

In order for Daming to change, the national treasury must be filled. Only in this way can various fields be gradually changed, and then promote the deep-seated reform of Daming.

"It must not end here, and the investigation must continue."

Bi Ziyan said with a serious expression: "Especially in Huguang and other places, where there are many vassals, I am worried that in these areas, there is a more serious invasion phenomenon than in Henan.

But how to conduct the investigation will test the court's choice.

The minister thought that after the Henan government found out, the imperial court should focus on Shandong, so he sent a patrol censor to Shandong to start a corresponding secret investigation under the pretext of patrolling and aiding the Liao land.

During this period, a secret decree can be conveyed to Yuan Keli, the governor of Shandong, to cooperate with the inspector censor sent to investigate the suzerains and vassals in various places to ensure the land occupation of various prefectures and counties, especially the occupation of official land. "

As the Minister of Finance of the Ming Dynasty, Bi Ziyan knew very well in his heart that the suzerains and vassals in various places invaded the land in various places, and there must be many layers behind it.

However, in charge of the Ministry of Households and the financial power of the Ming Dynasty, Bi Ziyan must be responsible to the court and help the court solve various problems it faces.

"Other things can be tolerated, but taxes are not involved."

Bi Ziyan continued: "In the past, the taxes levied by the state treasury had a serious imbalance between revenue and expenditure. In the face of various difficult problems, in order to stabilize the Ming Dynasty, the state apportioned the Liao's salary and apportioned the suppression salary. Food and salaries to tide over the crisis encountered.

But these have caused serious damage to the prestige of the country.

The minister had calculated in his mind that if the imperial court could use several years of Spring and Autumn Period to rule the suzerains and vassals in various places and find out all the land they occupied one by one, the imperial court would be able to earn at least 200 million taels of silver every year.

And the tax money is only a lot more.

These taxes should have been collected by the imperial court, but due to various reasons, they were invaded by suzerain and vassal groups, and even other groups..."

Listening to what Bi Ziyan said, Emperor Chongzhen showed a gratified smile on his face. It is indeed a very lucky thing to have such a public-minded treasurer of the Ming Dynasty to help him manage the finances of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Chongzhen was afraid that the minister in charge of the Ming Dynasty's finances would have one thing on the outside and another on the back. If that was the case, even if he wanted to solve practical problems, he would be unable to do it alone.

"The Qing family is right. In fact, there are many problems with Ming's tax and service system."

Emperor Chongzhen calmed down, looked at Bi Ziyan and said, "Like the customs that were closed in the past, the doubtful tariffs were gradually opened in the second year of Chongzhen. After the gradual rectification, the taxes collected by the imperial court will increase accordingly."

Bi Ziyan nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the imperial court has collected at least 450 million taels of silver over the past two years.

It is precisely because of these tariffs that the court will not be so cramped when dealing with other matters, especially when allocating food and salaries for disaster relief. "

With the passage of time, there have been major changes in the finances of the Ming Dynasty up to the fourth year of Chongzhen and the beginning of Emperor Chongzhen's reign.

In the past, it was difficult to balance the fiscal revenue and expenditure, and often had to demolish the east wall to make up for the west wall, so that the imperial court had to give up some of its rights and interests if it wanted to solve some problems.

But now it's different.

At least under the intervention of Emperor Chongzhen, the financial revenue and expenditure began to balance. Even if there were some deficits, the issue of bonds through the Ministry of Accounts or internal funds could solve the corresponding problems.

Emperor Chongzhen never apportioned the three major salaries that harm and defraud the people. After all, every time the apportionment was made, the imperial court lost a bit of credibility, and most of the apportioned money went into private pockets.

"In the final analysis, it is due to the unclear governance of officials."

Emperor Chongzhen narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with a stern expression: "If there were no problems with the administration of officials, such as the land occupation by the vassals, it would never be so serious.

The investigation of suzerain and vassal affairs in various places does not necessarily have to be carried out in the form of Henan. It is carried out in other places in Ming Dynasty. After all, if it is alerted, there will be policies and countermeasures.

In the past, when we unified science and education, it caused a lot of controversy in the court and a lot of opposition, and some people even went so far as to shake the foundation of the country.

Now it seems that no matter how loud the objection is, it must be done. If not, then the imperial court will have no choice but to closely focus on a certain core idea by sending a central inspection, and then carry out corresponding actions. investigation. "

Bi Ziyan nodded slightly in approval.

In order to solve the financial problems of Ming Dynasty, in fact, in the final analysis, it is to solve the problems of the administration of officials of Ming Dynasty and the problems of laws and regulations of Ming Dynasty. There is a relationship behind this.

(End of this chapter)