Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 526 Salary Holder

"Your Majesty said that the imperial court should live within its means, and I think this is a good point." Liu Zongzhou, wearing a big purple bullfighting robe, held up a jade wat board and said bluntly to the emperor, "But which expenses are necessary and which are not? of?"

"Since His Majesty raised his troops, he has implemented many benevolent and new policies, all of which are very good. Such as the abolition of military households and artisan households, the abolition of humble registration, the withdrawal of the Tianweiwei, and the establishment of the suzerain vassal support system, all of which have reduced a lot of expenditure for the court. Even His Majesty is diligent and thrifty. Saving, not extravagant, there are only 13 people in the harem, and there are only a few hundred maids in the harem.

Compared with the [-] court ladies and [-] eunuchs and handymen in the last years of Chongzhen, His Majesty's diligence and thrift is indeed a model for the world. "

Liu Zongzhou is more fair, he does not hesitate to praise what is right, what should be, but he also resolutely opposes what is wrong, "It is necessary to raise troops to protect the country and defend the border, but in the current situation, the expansion is too rapid, the army The expenditure was too high, and the court was unable to supply it.

A long-term worker in the south of the Yangtze River earns no more than three taels of silver a year.But now the soldiers in the army pay a minimum of [-] a month and a maximum of [-]. The rest of the rewards and pensions are also extremely high. Although generous salaries and heavy rewards motivate soldiers, the court cannot afford them. "

"In addition, each army also specially allocates auxiliary battalion warriors. One warrior has at least three taels per month, and every hundred soldiers has to be equipped with 36 warrior warriors. This part of the expenditure is also huge,"

"I think that the auxiliary battalion can be dismantled, and it is enough to recruit strong men to assist on the spot during wartime."

"Soldiers' salaries can be reduced appropriately. The daily salary of the top class is one yuan, three taels a month, the middle daily salary is nine cents, and the monthly salary is two taels seven, the lower class is eight cents a day, and the monthly salary is two taels... , In addition, since the salary is generous, the monthly rations can be canceled conveniently, and the rations can be supplemented appropriately when they are away from the expedition.”

"There is no need to hire Western instructors and mercenaries with high salaries."

"Officers can also increase their salaries appropriately, but they should not be given rations for personal soldiers, nor should they be given silver for ministers. A battalion officer only manages five hundred soldiers, and the monthly salary is 50 taels, which is equivalent to an increase of one yuan per soldier. For the military expenses, the envoy’s silver is 150 taels, plus three qian, and there are ten famous soldiers in the army, and ten more soldiers’ salaries, it’s too much!”

Zhu Yihai sat there and listened to Liu Zongzhou's detailed words, without rushing to refute.

Liu Zongzhou is a well-known rotten Confucian in the world, but Zhu Yihai doesn't think he is a real nerd, he is just a person with a heart and morals who can persist. standard bearer.

What he said was idealism.

Zhu Yihai's new policy has indeed reduced a lot of expenses. The three major items of suzerain, vassal, and court have already reduced a lot of expenses.

For example, the hundreds of thousands of royal families in the original imperial court were entrusted but not tin-earthed, ranked as nobles but not near the people, fed and paid but not governed, and were not allowed to participate in the careers of scholars, farmers, businessmen, and the four people.The clan had a superior political and economic status, married wives and concubines widely, and the population of the clan increased greatly. They occupied and merged a lot of land, and the huge clan expenses consumed a lot of national wealth.

During the Wanli period, the whole world provided 400 million stones of grain for the capital every year, while Lumifan in various prefectures provided 850 million stones.Taking Shanxi as an example, there are 150 million stones left, and Zonglu needs 310 million stones.Taking Henan as an example, there are 84 stones left, while Zonglu has 190 million stones.

The grain retained in the two provinces was all lost by order, which was less than half of the Lumi supply.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the military households in the guards all over the world had long been corrupted and could not be fought. However, there were still a large number of guards in the guards who needed monthly food. They recruited millions of soldiers, but they couldn't fight, but they had to put a lot of food in them. They also occupied a lot of farmland. Not only failed to pay taxes to the court, but it was a bottomless pit.

Only the clan and the guards provided for the army, these two items, the finances of the late Ming court were overwhelmed and breathless.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was still a big expenditure, that is, the court.

Nine thousand palace ladies, this number is relatively real.

One hundred thousand eunuchs are more complicated. In fact, the court eunuchs in the late Ming Dynasty had many institutions. They not only served the emperor in the Forbidden City, they had twelve eunuchs, and there were many institutions below them.

During the Longqing period, a report from the Ministry of Industry stated that there were 720 internal servants in the two capitals of the north and the south. Since then, the number has continued to expand. In the first year of Wanli, 250 clean men were selected once. The supervisory bureaus applied for service, and received more than 2000 people in six years, 11 in 16 years, 29 in [-] years, and [-] in [-] years.

According to the incomplete statistics in the actual records, the number increased to more than 3 during the reign of Chongzhen.

Under the Inner Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, there were more than 500 eunuchs and laborers.

There were also a large number of medical officials in the court. In the early years of Chongzhen, the number of official doctors increased to 530, and the number of officials and craftsmen in the Wensi Academy also increased to nearly [-].

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the number of Jinyiwei was as many as [-].

In addition, there are also a large number of eunuchs guarding outside, eunuchs of Jiangnan weaving, etc.

At that time, in Beijing alone, the amount of money, food, silk, cloth, porcelain, etc. supplied to the court and servants was almost the standard of 10 people.

There are more than 2 internal servants above the long follower in the palace alone, and there are many below the long follower. The number of eunuchs, long followers and other internal servants under the various supervision bureaus who do not live in the palace is even larger.

Of course, there are only 3 or [-] eunuchs who are actually purified, and the rest are personnel under the Twelve Eunuchs, all of whom serve the royal family.

During the Jiajing period, it was Guanglu Temple that was responsible for the supply of the court, and the annual silver consumption was 36.

Liu Zongzhou said that there are nine thousand palaces and one hundred thousand eunuchs, which is not rigorous enough. The actual situation should be that the number of palace ladies is about the same, but it is impossible to have one hundred thousand eunuchs. Temporary workers count, not bad.

Although the budget is not much, even temporary workers will eventually have to pay.

30 million clans, 70 million guards, plus nearly [-] palace servants, etc., these three expenses are indeed very large. Zhu Yihai chopped down a few knives and kept streamlining, saving a lot of financial expenses.

Now, Zhu Yihai has set up Nanjing Yingtian, Tokyo Fengtian, and Shaojing Shaotian, and set up three capitals, but the total number of palace people in the three palaces is no more than a thousand, and the number of servants is also greatly reduced.

In particular, the original Twelve Supervisors have been greatly streamlined, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been newly added, and many affairs have been handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, especially many such royal handicraft workshops such as weaving, etc., are now basically assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Under the name of the government, and adopted a similar semi-independent business model.

It is still owned by the royal family, but it is relatively independent. A large number of craftsmen and workers are even employed in the same way as in the outside market.

In addition, there are some manual units, which are directly designated and are no longer managed by the palace servants. Although the Twelfth Supervisory Bureau is still there, they have streamlined their manpower and are only responsible for core responsibilities. Many other subsidiary tasks have been taken away. .

The Ministry of Internal Affairs took over a large number of royal handicraft workshops, but the business model has also changed.

The 30 or [-] clans have experienced great turmoil in these years. Many clans died at the hands of trespassers and thieves, and many fell to the hands of Tartars, which has reduced a lot.

Nearly half of the survivors have gone to the south, and many are still stranded in the north.

For these clans, Zhu Yihai also adjusted the clan system several times.

Let the clan mansion be responsible for the settlement of these clans in various places.

The title of the emperor was greatly changed, and the salary was greatly reduced.

Only a few vassals are kept, and there are no hereditary replacements. The rest will be demoted to the second class, and the concubine will be demoted to the second class.

However, after Zhu Yihai reformed these, he also gave the clan some good benefits, such as allowing them to choose their own names, marry their own wives and daughters, allow them to study and take imperial examinations, and allow them to serve as soldiers and officials.You can also manage the four industries, for industry and business.

Many restrictions have been lifted.

On the other hand, at the same time as the clan's salary was greatly reduced, a ration was distributed to the newly born population in the clan, which was halved when they were six years old, and until they were 12 years old, this ration was six buckets of rice per month.

When the clan reaches the age of 60, they can receive pension rations, six buckets per month, until death.

Clan children are also given a subsidy for studying, three buckets of rice per month.

These rations are not paid out from the treasury of the Ministry of Households, but from the emperor's internal funds. Compared with the past, this subsidized grain is actually not much, and it has not been given to scholars in various counties.

The salary of the imperial family is several grades lower than that of the officials of the imperial court. Basically, it is to support the family. It is impossible to continue the superior life of the past. You have to do things yourself, whether it is studying or serving as an official, serving as a soldier for salary, or farming and doing business. Wait, you have to rely on yourself.

As before, it is impossible for Prince Lu Wanshi to be a first-rank official who is only a thousand years old.

Except for a few grandparents who are not hereditary, but the rest of his concubine sons will be demoted to the second class, and the concubine will be demoted to the second class at a time. For the title of a son of the clan, he can only receive two taels of silver and six buckets of Zongmi a month.

Even the new system stipulates that after the royal family women get married, they will no longer have salaries to support them, and it is even more impossible for them to have husbands, concubines and Yibin.

The intensity of these reforms is even stronger than those proposed by Liu Zongzhou at the beginning.

However, Liu Zongzhou believed that the emperor increased the salaries of the officials and the soldiers, which was tantamount to adding in the hard-won reduction and making up a lot more.

Therefore, he strongly suggested that the salaries of hundreds of officials should not be increased, and soldiers should not be too generous. Serving as a soldier and fighting a war is not something to enjoy.

"Liu Zongxian, today is not the same as before. When the Ming Dynasty was prosperous, a bucket of rice cost only [-] yuan, a catty of meat was only six or seven yuan, a catty of fish was only one or two yuan, and one tael of silver could buy a lot of things, but now? Although The south of the Yangtze River has stabilized, but prices are still high. Now the price of rice in Guangdong is about [-] for one stone, about [-] in Zhejiang, [-] in the vicinity of Taihu Lake, [-] in Jiangxi, and [-] in Huguang and Sichuan. two two,
After crossing the river, it is more expensive. Now Huaiyang costs about three taels per shimi, and Dengzhou costs one tael.

In the disaster-stricken areas in Shandong, Henan, at least five taels of silver are needed per stone now, and there is no market for the price.

In the middle of Wanli period, a stone of rice in the south was about five coins and silver. By the beginning of Tianqi Chongzhen, a stone of rice in the south cost one tael. "

Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the standardization of silver has also brought mild inflation. Prices have been rising, but the rise is relatively moderate and slow. During the reign of Tianqi Chongzhen, disasters in various places and military disasters continued, resulting in an overall skyrocketing price rise, even at a high level. No more.

At the beginning of Chongzhen, the price of rice rose to one tael of silver and one stone, which the common people found unacceptable, but it quickly rose to two, three, and one stone, and even four or five taels could not buy grain, so people could only eat each other.

Now the situation is improving, but the price of rice in Jiangnan is still higher than that in the early years of Chongzhen. At least there must be two or three acquaintances, and the south must no longer suffer from military disasters, so that it may fall below one tael of silver and one stone, but I want to fall back again , has become more difficult.

Unless the Tartars are wiped out and the country returns to stability again, then the population will drop sharply, the grain output will be stable, and there will be a surplus of grain, and then there will be a decline.

In today's turmoil, it is normal for prices to be expensive.

On the one hand, many people are precarious, leaving their hometowns, and can’t even eat, so if they can have a place to stay and a job to eat, they are willing to do it no matter how cheap the wages are, let alone a long-term job of three or two a year. Refugees are willing to only include food and lodging and give them a couple of taels.

But on the other hand, due to turmoil caused by wars, etc., some craftsmen are scarce. For example, many craftsmen such as blacksmiths and carpenters who know the craft now have higher salaries.

For example, Zhoushan’s shipyards and gun factories have many orders and tight construction schedules. If these skilled craftsmen are recruited everywhere, their treatment will increase. Even some veteran farmers recruited in the royal farm can now get ninety percent a year. two.

Therefore, the overall supply of prices and materials is currently insufficient, leading to general price increases, wages and wages have also increased, but on the other hand, due to war disasters, some refugees are the cheapest labor in order to survive.

Some odd jobs range from just food, to ten and twenty yuan a day, to fifty and seventy yuan a day, and one or two hundred yuan a day is not uncommon for skilled workers.

Therefore, for part-time workers, the minimum is two or three hundred yuan a month, and the maximum can be more than one or two.

For those long-term workers, there is a minimum of three taels of silver in addition to food and lodging, but the high ones are already ten taels.

Liu Zongzhou said that a long-term worker earns three taels of silver a year. After paying for food and lodging, it was even at the previous level. Those who still get three taels now are usually refugees from the north.

Soldiers are paid four or five taels a month, which is indeed high in the past.

But now the price is at least two or three times that of the Wanli period. In the past, five taels of silver could buy ten shi of rice, but now ten taels of silver can only buy a little more than three shi of rice in the south.

So in fact, the current payment has almost the same purchasing power as before.

Although soldiers are provided with food and housing in the army, they still have to support their families. With just a few stones of rice, it is barely enough to feed and clothe a few people.

"President Liu!

"Soldiers fought for the country and threw their heads and blood. The money was earned by wearing their heads on their waistbands."

"Those who hold salaries for everyone, don't let them freeze to death in the wind and snow, and those who open the way for everyone, don't let them be trapped in thorns!

Soldiers are the guards of the country, not simply hired long-term workers, this is not simply a simple meal, but a warrior who sacrifices and fights for the country. For them, we must show the highest courtesy we can! "

"Isn't it normal that a soldier pays more than a long-term tenant?"

"A soldier's income is about the same as that of a craftsman, isn't it high?"

"I don't think it's much at all. If it weren't for the imperial court's lack of finances, they would have to increase their salaries. We must always have high respect for them, and the imperial court must always give priority to protecting them!"

"Did everyone forget how miserable the soldiers of the guards were in the early years of the Ming Dynasty?
They are the Great Wall of the country. When they are hungry and fall down, the Great Wall will also collapse, and the barbaric enemies of foreign races will come in! "

"If we can't even provide basic guarantees, if we can't let them have peace of mind, how can we make them sacrifice for the court?"

"I have cut off the clan's salary,
I have cut the court's expenses,

But the salaries of the soldiers,
It is impossible for me to cut half a point! "

"The auxiliary battalion will not be abolished either. These are not civilians, but auxiliary soldiers. They are also soldiers to ensure that the soldiers can fight with peace of mind. The treatment of auxiliary soldiers will not be cut, because they are also fighting with their lives!"

"I will explain to everyone today that not only will I not cut the salaries of soldiers and soldiers, but I will also increase their benefits!"

(End of this chapter)