Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 993: Gathering Strength
The current Ming Dynasty is just a chessboard in Zhu Youxiao's eyes. There is no good or bad distinction between the territories under its jurisdiction. All Ming territories are kept in Zhu Youxiao's mind.

But development involves trade-offs.

this is the truth.

Even though the reality seems so cruel.

Just as the General Administration of Water Resources will do in the future, if they want to do a good job, they will inevitably have to sacrifice a part of the group. Only if they spend their whole lives silently dedicating themselves to the national water conservancy, can they make changes little by little over time. Even if some people will become famous one day, no one will pay attention to those who are struggling on the front line.

Because they are too ordinary.

But it is this ordinariness that can create miracles.

"Your Majesty, judging from this trend, even if the national treasury is relieved and the private treasury is also taken care of, the pressure of this fiscal expenditure is really too great."

The court discussion on water conservancy ended quietly.

All officials under the General Administration of Water Resources left Xiyuan, and many even left the capital, and rushed to their respective places of work, but a new court meeting also began.

Ling Yiqu, the Minister of the Southern Study, reported the actual situation with an extremely solemn expression. The other ministers of the Southern Study in Yuxi Palace had similar expressions.

"Even if Liu Rongsi and his team fight for it at the central level, the Water Resources Administration needs to do something. To implement the various preliminary arrangements for the Yellow River, Huai River, and Grand Canal, at least three million will be needed."

"I have sorted out the memorials of the Ministry of Revenue. There is gold and silver in the national treasury, but the amount of gold and silver has already been counted. Even if some can be squeezed out, it will not exceed 1.5 million at most. The rest may have to be covered by the internal treasury."

"But the treasury needs to be supplemented. There are too many categories that need to be supported. In addition, there are millions of bonds to be redeemed this year. Even if there is a balance of seigniorage derived from the new currency, there are not many reserves that can be used by the treasury."

Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly as he listened to what Ling Yiqu said. He knew that Ling Yiqu was not saying this to shirk responsibility or escape from anything. He was trying to make something clear to him in a subtle way.

Your Majesty, at the rate you spend money, even if you can still make ends meet now, over time, with so much additional spending, big problems will arise sooner or later.

The Southern Study Room is under the greatest pressure today.

The pressure is even greater than that of the cabinet.

Because Zhu Youxiao had so many things to do, and many of them had already been facilitated and promoted, a large amount of resources had to be allocated to these areas.

This is the Lifanyuan.

This is the Military Affairs Council.

This is the Shaofu.

This is the Beijing camp.

Each and every thing that was being pushed forward required money to support it. Before we knew it, the scale of bonds sold by the Shaofu had reached an astonishing number.

It's strange to say.

Don’t just look at the current situation in the Ming Dynasty. There are some places that are in turmoil, and even the undercurrents are surging at the center. There are all kinds of discussions between the government and the public.

However, once the bonds issued by the Shaofu came out, they would inevitably be snapped up. This was certainly related to the fact that the issuance and sale of bonds were no longer only anchored to the imperial farmland, but also to the many industries under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu. However, there was also a consensus that had already been transmitted in the heartland of the Ming Dynasty.

The bonds issued by the Shaofu have a very high credibility, and the key is that they really maintain their value.

In the past, no matter how large the scale of each bond was or what the political situation was at the time, there was no hesitation at all about redeeming the principal upon maturity.

This is also what Zhu Youxiao has always emphasized.

Regarding bonds, no matter how great the pressure on the treasury is, even if a portion of the special funds is misappropriated, they must be repaid in full and with full interest upon maturity.

This is related to the credibility of the country.

If the new currency system is to take root, it does not mean that the old monetary system, coin making, and mint should be abolished one after another, and then the currency system, new currency, and mint should be gradually filled in and we can sit back and relax.

There is another very important point here.

That's credibility.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youxiao had the same attitude towards cracking down on private and excessive minting, regardless of whether it was old coins or new dragon coins.

Because of the repeated changes and proliferation of Baochao during different dynasties, the credibility of the Ming Dynasty in some aspects was actually cut off.

Easy to destroy.

Recovery is difficult.

But no matter how difficult it is, Zhu Youxiao must do it well. Once the new currency system can take root, it will be gradually promoted within the Ming Dynasty. The annual seigniorage will be a huge sum.

During this process, the Ming Dynasty was constantly infiltrating the outside world. With an absolutely strong currency system, it asked the surrounding countries or forces to accept the Ming Dynasty Dragon Currency, which would be a huge source of wealth.

of course.

In order to support this matter, the Ming Dynasty had to control rich gold and silver mines, so Zhu Youxiao set his sights on Southeast Asia. At the same time, there was another place that Zhu Youxiao kept in mind, and that was East Wo!
Perhaps the current Ming Dynasty is still unable to infiltrate into Eastern Japan, or even control some areas of Eastern Japan.

But don't rush.

When the Korean siphon area has been almost completely sucked up by the Ming Dynasty and then switched to normal stationing, then once the army and navy surrounding Korea have completed the reform and reorganization, the Ming Dynasty will try to infiltrate East Japan.

"Having said so much, at least for now, no matter what the situation of the national treasury is, the treasury can provide a guarantee." Zhu Youxiao gathered his thoughts and looked at the ministers in the Southern Study.

"When it comes to things that need to be done, especially when it comes to promoting and accelerating them, my attitude is one: we must support them without compromise. There is no room for bargaining."

"As for the money, the Southern Study must make good plans and allocate funds properly. The specific fundraising and turnover will be implemented by the Shaofu and other officials."

As time went by, the powers of the two study rooms increased. Zhu Youxiao certainly knew that this would bring some hidden dangers, but there were too many things to do in recent years and he could not handle them all by himself. He had to delegate some power and let the people around him take control of the overall situation so that he could coordinate better.

When ministers like Chen Mingyu and Ling Yiqu heard what the emperor said, their expressions were somewhat complicated. Because they were involved in so many things, they had to consider various things just because of this general tone.

The Ming Dynasty has no shortage of people who can get things done.

Therefore, Zhu Youxiao has already changed some things up to now. For example, he has consciously conveyed some coldness to the people in front of the emperor and his right-hand men in various places, telling them not to be limited by what is in front of them and become timid. Zhu Youxiao wants to spur them to keep moving forward in this way.

They should have a sense of crisis, because their hesitation and dithering might cause some problems for the Ming Dynasty. With this idea, the rest of the things will be easier to handle.

"Don't always stare at the gold and silver that I have spent."

Zhu Youxiao leaned against the cushion and continued, "We must keep an eye on these gold and silver and see what they have brought to the Ming Dynasty. Not to mention, these gold and silver are gone, just like the food eaten. They disappear, and they are still in the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

"All tax reforms, led by the Ministry of Revenue, are being implemented at an accelerated pace. Not to mention other things, the salt tax alone was nearly three million more than in previous years." "As long as this momentum can be maintained, the accumulated problems in the national treasury can be solved from the root. Perhaps by then, there will be no need to spend more money from the treasury."

It would be nice if that were true.

When the ministers in front of the emperor heard the emperor say this, they all said it in their hearts in tacit understanding.

They are not questioning the emperor.

It is not questioning tax reform.

They have been in the imperial court for a long time, so they know the emperor too well. Even if the long-standing problems in the national treasury are solved, there will probably be more places to spend money in the future.

The more you collect, the more you spend.

Because they all felt that deep in the emperor's heart, there was always a sense of urgency and he wanted to do many things well.

But things have to be done one by one.

If everyone does it together, it will cause unrest.

In order to eliminate this turmoil and get things done at the same time, the emperor has been breaking down and doing the things he wants to do separately.

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This creates a spectacle.

What was done in Northern Zhili was not done in other places, and what was done in other places was not done in Northern Zhili, but there were subtle connections between them.

What does this mean?
It means building up momentum!
Once the time is ripe, these tasks that have been split up will be integrated by the emperor, and the scope will be gradually expanded, so that all tasks can be promoted throughout the country.

Just knowing this, Chen Mingyu and his team knew one thing: there will be more and more places where money will be needed in the future, but this cannot be supported by a healthy central financial system.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Under such circumstances, Ma Shiqi stepped forward and bowed.

"explain."

Zhu You's speech is concise and concise.

"As far as I know, since Sichuan implemented the land-based tax system, there has been a great improvement in taxation," Ma Shiqi said. "This part of the collected taxes was used to build garrisons, abolish garrisons, and reform the army. This also indirectly accelerated the control of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road."

"I think that the policy of allocating land tax to each acre has been promoted in Sichuan for quite some time. The problems encountered during this period have been solved one by one by the Sichuan authorities, and even many systems have been improved."

"In this case, can the issue of equalizing the land tax be expanded to a wider range? This will directly reduce the pressure on the treasury in the future. For example, it can be implemented in northern Zhili or Liaodong."

"This is not the time yet."

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao said calmly: "Your idea is good, but for the current court, this policy cannot be implemented outside Sichuan."

Ok?
Ma Shiqi showed a puzzled expression.

"Don't you think the current turmoil is big enough?"

In this situation, Ling Yiqu stepped forward and said, "This new policy of equalizing the land tax is good for the country and the people, but don't forget that it will cause the core interests of the groups with a lot of land to suffer losses."

"The essence of the policy of allocating the Ding tax to the land is to distribute the Ding tax to the land. In this way, those who do not own land will no longer have to bear the Ding tax, and those with less land will pay less, while those with more land will pay more. This is a reversal of the strategy that the imperial court has followed in the past."

"That is, most taxes are borne by the vast majority of the lower classes, while a small number of privileged and powerful groups can avoid them under various pretexts."

"The implementation of the One Whip Law is intended to solve this problem, but what has it achieved in return?"

"When can the land tax be expanded? This depends on the southeast, Liaodong, and even the northwest. The court can really intimidate more people, and then this policy can be implemented in Sichuan."

The South Study Room has huge potential.

Zhu Youxiao showed a pleased smile.

The look he gave Ling Yiqu changed.

He gathered think tanks around him, not to ask these people to be puppets, but to have them stand at a certain height and consider the overall situation, so as to play the role of finding and filling in the gaps.

"Also, you only see the benefits of the land-based tax system in Sichuan, but ignore some changes that have taken place in Sichuan." After Ling Yiqu, Chen Mingyu followed closely.

"In the past, when suppressing the Tusi rebellion, the bandits that were wiped out have shown signs of revival in Sichuan. The army led by the Sichuan governor is suppressing them everywhere."

"On this point, the Shangshufang forwarded the report from the Military Affairs Council. Under this suppression, a group of young officers and generals will emerge."

"According to the analysis of the Military Affairs Council, these forces gathered together, and even during this process, some chieftains rebelled. This was all due to the instigation of multiple forces."

"Let's end this discussion here."

Zhu Youxiao said, "The reason why the Sichuan issue has not caused any impact, especially in the central government, is due to the unique terrain of the Sichuan region."

"If Sichuan had no natural barriers and was as flat as Northern Zhili, I wonder how many people in the court would have taken advantage of the situation to add fuel to the fire."

Ma Shiqi lowered his head.

He really ignored that.

He raised these points to relieve the pressure on the treasury.

However, Zhu Youxiao didn't care what Ma Shiqi thought.

As human beings, when encountering certain things, we will always ignore some things. As long as our heart is good, we should give some forgiveness and don't keep it suppressed.

Just like in Sichuan, although some situations occurred, Zhu Youxiao never issued an edict to reprimand Zhu Xieyuan and others, because Zhu Youxiao knew that their situation was not easy.

Moreover, amidst these disturbances, a group of generals and officers emerged, which made Zhu Youxiao feel relieved and happy.

Because in the southwest, Zhu Youxiao was still planning a grand strategy.

This grand strategy cannot be perfectly supported by Qin Liangyu, Zhou Yuji, Hou Liangzhu, Li Weixin and the Qin and Ma clans alone.

But now, there is a group of emerging military generals. Even though many of them are still low-level officers now, once they are promoted, it will play a crucial role in the military reform of the Ming Dynasty in the southwest.

By then, the deployment of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road and what Chen Qiuyu had done in Guangdong and Guangxi, intervention in the Snow Region and Central and South China, would not only shift conflicts for the Ming Dynasty, but would also allow the Ming Dynasty to gain many practical benefits. This is why Zhu Youxiao was not worried that his bold reforms would not be able to sustain themselves one day.

Even if it is short of money or even various resources, the Ming Dynasty will launch a new strategy at the current time to make up for this shortcoming!
(End of this chapter)