Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 115 Scholars Discussing Politics
Leaving aside the far-reaching influence of the "Edict to Discuss Captives", let's talk about Nanjing.

At this time, it has been seven days since Chongzhen issued the "Decree to Seek Captives" in Piyong, Guozijian, and the time has quietly come to July [-]th, the seventeenth year of Chongzhen.

In the past seven days, scholars who were relatively close to each other came to Nanjing Guozijian to join the army.

For the past seven days, the Chongzhen father and son and the hundreds of barbarians led by Wu Batan have been living in the Guozijian, and have not lived in the Nanjing guard eunuch Xingyuan that Han Zanzhou spent a lot of money to renovate and expand. Now it is called Nangong.

As for Hu Guozhu and the remaining [-] Yiding, they have been stationed outside the Xuanwu Gate.

Chongzhen used the routine used on Yi Ding and the frontier army on the students of the Imperial Academy.

It must be admitted that although this set of methods of winning people's hearts is simple, it is easy to use. Yi Ding and the soldiers of the border towns cannot resist this move, and the scholars who have been influenced by Confucian loyalty to the emperor since childhood are even more unable to resist.

Chongzhen especially liked to participate in discussions among scholars. Whenever scholars gathered to comment on current affairs, Chongzhen would not stop them but actively participated in them. However, when criticizing current affairs in front of the holy majesty, maybe today's criticism will become tomorrow's major politics!

What Yi Ding lacked was an equal status, which Chongzhen had given them.

What the frontier army lacked was sufficient rations and salaries, which Chongzhen also gave them.

What the scholars lack is the opportunity to display their ambitions, which Chongzhen can't give them for the time being, but his earnest listening already represents an attitude, this is the emperor's listening!
If this is done well, it will be easy in the heart of the emperor!
On this day, another super-large debate was staged in the Yilun Hall.

At first, a group of scholars gathered to discuss why Daming fell to this point.

At the beginning, the opinions were quite confused. Some people thought that it was caused by natural disasters. In the past fifty years, there have been many natural disasters, especially during the reign of Chongzhen.

Natural disasters led to a reduction in food production, and the people had nothing to eat, so they had to rise up.

Some people also believe that it was caused by the rise of Jiannu. Since the rise of Jiannu in Liaodong during the Wanli period, it consumed a lot of manpower and material resources of Ming Dynasty and dragged down the main force of the Ming army, so that the court was unable to suppress all kinds of thieves.

Some people also think that the decline of Ming Dynasty is due to the struggle between the eunuch party and the Qingliu party.

Several scholars started a heated debate around their respective views. After nearly half a day of heated debate, they finally formed a relatively unified view. In the final analysis, Daming was still stuck in a word of money!
There was no money, so the court was unable to relieve the famine, which led to the rebellion of the victims.

There is no money, so the court is unable to strengthen its military equipment, and can only sit back and watch the rise of Jiannu.

There was no money, so the court was unable to suppress the thieves, which eventually led to the upside-down of the mountains and rivers.

Everything is because of a word of money. If the treasury of the Ming Dynasty is full, there will be no displacement of victims, no rebellion by thieves, and no chance for slaves to rise.

……

At this time, the cabinet court room was also holding a meeting.

Gao Hongtu, Jiang Yueguang and Xie Xuelong came to Shi Kefa's residence.

Gao Hongtu handed a statement to Shi Kefa and said: "Mr. Shi Ge, here are three major items to be discussed today. One is the review of national expenditures, the other is the matter of drafting, and the third is the Enke Talent Ceremony."

Shi Kefa took Tiaochen over, and saw that there were outlines of three urgent tasks written on it, as well as the participants.

The first national expenditure review is equivalent to the final accounts of the financial budget. It is to make the final accounts of last year's financial expenditures. After this work is completed, the accounts will be closed, and then the budget for this year's expenditures will be made, such as the amount of military pay and the amount of the clan. , The amount of official salaries, and if there are additional expenditures, must be considered in advance at the financial meeting.

For example, the vassal king's vassal, the prince's wedding, etc., are all major expenses that need to be deliberated in advance.

Originally, this process should have been completed before the end of last year, but due to thieves committing crimes against the capital, the accounts of the provinces could not be sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs, so it has been delayed until now.

Up to now, the officials of the cabinet and the household department have changed a group.

Gao Hongtu, Jiang Riguang and the others naturally didn't want to pay for the bad debts of their predecessors, and took advantage of this opportunity to clean up the bad debts of Nanzhi and even the entire Jiangnan.

Put all the blame on the previous cabinet.

Anyway, the capital has fallen, and the account books of the household department have also been burned. There is no proof of death.

Shi Kefa knew the plan of Gao Hongtu and Jiang Riguang, but he couldn't help feeling some resistance in his heart, because doing so was contrary to his personal morality and integrity.

Gao Hongtu saw the resistance in Shi Kefa's heart, so he persuaded him: "Old Shi Ge, I also know that this is not kind, but it is not good to dwell on the past, and I am not doing this for personal gain, but for Let everyone move forward lightly, the Ming Dynasty must unload its burdens, otherwise there will be no hope."

To put it in a high-sounding way, in fact, it is not greedy to benefit everyone.

All the money and food that Jiangnan drifted away were distributed to everyone as welfare, and did not fall into their private pockets, so there is no need to feel guilty for destroying the account books. Gao Hongtu is this logic.

Although Shi Kefa did not agree, he did not insist on his own opinion.

As an official, you can't be too high-minded, it's better to be like the light and the dust.

At that moment, Shi Kefa changed the subject: "About Enke's candidate for the examiner, have you decided?"

The imperial examination was originally held every three years. The most recent one was the Guiwei Division in the [-]th year of Chongzhen. It took only one year, and it was said that it would take two years to hold the imperial examination. However, due to the fall of the capital, thousands of Beijing officials first surrendered to Dashun. Then he surrendered and became a slave, which caused the most serious shortage of officials in the history of the Ming court.

After the Nanjing cabinet formed a cabinet, thousands of Beijing officials were replenished.

However, this has led to a large number of vacancies for local officials. Shi Kefa and the others are unwilling to lower their standards and let Juren or even scholars become officials, so it is imperative to try Kornke again.

When Shi Kefa asked about Enke, Jiang Yueguang, who was in charge of the Ministry of Etiquette, said, "It's been decided. It's Qian Muzhai. The deputy examiners are Zhan Shifu Shao Zhan Shihuang Daozhou and Taipusi Shaoqing Wanji."

Shi Kefa nodded, and asked again: "Has the sage returned to Nangong?"

Just as he was asking, a small official came in and reported: "Several cabinet elders, the Holy Majesty just sent someone to say that today's cabinet meeting will be held in the doctor's hall of the Imperial College."

"Change to Guozijian?" Jiang Yueguang and Xie Xuelong were both stunned.

Gao Hongtu turned dark and said, "The cabinet meeting is held in the Imperial College, what's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with seeing it." Shi Kefa stood up and said, "The Imperial College is a place for teaching and educating people. It is not a good mood to discuss the major policies of the imperial court in the sound of students' books."

Gao Hongtu snorted and said, "If that's the case, then go to the Imperial College."

The next group of four came to Guozijian together with several affairs officers.

……

Guozijian has just eaten lunch, and it is also simple.

After dinner, under the deliberate guidance of Chongzhen, we continued to have in-depth discussions on financial issues-how to solve the problem of insufficient funds in the Ming Dynasty?

Now the views of the scholars are even more complicated, and they are simply varied.

"Everyone, I have a message." A young scholar strode up to the Yilun hall, and introduced himself first as usual, "I am Zheng Zunfeng, a student in the next Kuaiji, and I will see the Holy One and all my colleagues."

In another time and space in history, this person also died heroically for resisting the Qing Dynasty.

According to regulations, after Zheng Zunfeng came to power, he had to salute Chongzhen.

However, Chongzhen issued a decree after he entered the Guozijian. All the students of the Guozijian, and all the scholars who were ordered to seek captives, only need to bow to the holy car, and there is no need to kneel down.

So Zheng Zunfeng just made a long bow to Chongzhen.

"Brother Zheng, please explain your high opinion." Zheng Sen, who presided over the debate, said solemnly.

These days, under the deliberate promotion and support of Chongzhen, Zheng Senyin has a tendency to become the student leader of Nanjing Guozijian, so it is also his duty to be the moderator of the debate in Yilun Hall.

According to Chongzhen's estimation, there should be around [-] scholars in Fengzhao.

With so many scholars, he alone cannot manage them.

Therefore, it is an inevitable choice to support several student leaders to assist him in managing scholars, and Zheng Sen can be one of the candidates no matter his background, ability or ethnic standpoint.

Zheng Zunfeng bowed again to Zheng Sen, then turned to face Chongzhen.

"I believe that the reason why Ming Dynasty's national use is insufficient is not because of insufficient tax sources, nor because of huge expenditures!"

"Everyone in the world says that the taxation of the Ming Dynasty is deficient. I often hear people say that when the taxation of the Ming Dynasty was the most abundant, it was only more than [-] million shi. According to the current price of rice, it was only a mere [-] million taels of silver."

"However, in the Southern Song Dynasty, only half of the south of the Yangtze River could earn [-] million years old."

"I would like to ask my colleagues, is this really the case?"

After Zheng Zunfeng asked this question, there was a moment of silence in Yilun Hall.

Immediately, a student in the next hall asked back: "Brother Zheng, isn't that the case?"

"That's not the case, this theory is absurd!" Zheng Zunfeng said loudly, "It doesn't matter what happened before Wanli, after Wanli my Ming's taxation is not as good as that of the Southern Song Dynasty, but it will not be much worse!"

Hearing this, Yi Luntang immediately exploded.

Several officials of Shi Kefa happened to walk outside Yilun Hall and heard this.

"This son is really talking nonsense, he utters such fallacies!" Gao Hongtu immediately stepped forward to stop him.

"Gao Ge is old and slow." Shi Kefa waved his hand and said, "It's not too late to hear him finish his words."

Shi Kefa still didn't say anything, you sat in the hall without seeing the Holy Majesty?Your Majesty is not in a hurry, so why are you, Gao Hongtu, in a hurry?You have to let people finish talking.

Dozens of scholars in the hall stood up at the same time, wanting to refute.

Zheng Sen immediately got up and stopped him: "Everyone, let brother Zunfeng finish talking."

Those dozens of scholars then sat down on the table angrily, waiting for Zheng Zunapeng's next words.

Zheng Zunfeng smiled and said: "I know you won't believe it, but after you listen to the facts I have listed, you will understand that what I say is true. Our taxation in Ming Dynasty is no less than that in Southern Song Dynasty."

After a short pause, he continued, "My Zheng family is not well-known in Kuaiji, but they are quite wealthy."

"Since the reign of Yongle, my Zheng family has been making wine. Although the scale of the workshop is small, it can still brew hundreds of stone rice wine every year, and the profit can reach more than two hundred taels."

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(End of this chapter)