Daming: If I find a great-grandson, I will teach an emperor through the ages

Chapter 243 Another shortcoming of the Ming Dynasty, the salary system of the vassal king
After struggling for a long time, Zhao Lei came down from the sky with Zhu Ming.

Although this kid shouted cheerfully and pretended to be nonchalant, when he got off the plane, his legs were like cooked noodles, swaying from side to side.

Everyone laughed at him, but they didn't know that they might be like this later.

Jin Wang Zhu Fan had just bid the highest price. As soon as Zhu Chu came down, he quickly squeezed in, and the same novelty and excitement made Zhao Lei take off again.

Zhao Lei was already familiar with driving the car the second time. After another run-up, the plane was in the sky. In the blink of an eye, Zhu Fan's shouts were heard in the sky, which was as heartbreaking as Zhu Chu's. People really doubted whether he would be there. The sky shouted and fainted.

Cao Wei would not care about this. When the vassal kings got on the plane, he was only responsible for taking notes and collecting the money later.

Just as Cao Wei was thinking about it, this plane ride experience could bring hundreds of thousands of taels of silver funds to the scientific research institute.

After getting off the ground and recovering for a while, Zhu Zhen moved over again.

He glanced at the other vassal kings mischievously and saw that they were all staring at the plane in the sky. He whispered to Cao Wei:

"Master, I have something else to do when I come here this time, but I'm embarrassed to say it."

After a few people left, Cao Wei turned around and went to the palace alone.

Now that there is an efficient and convenient travel tool like airplane, how can they not be tempted?
If they can bring two planes back and build an airport, then they can go wherever they want.

"To be honest, Grand Master, my princess gave birth to a daughter for me in the third year after you left Yunnan. Now she has grown up and is about to get married. Well...I'm going to I was thinking, ahem... if I could, ahem... match her up with Cao Lin, the son of the Grand Master." Zhu Ming covered his mouth with one hand and finished speaking.

Facing the proposals of the vassal kings, Cao Wei thought that this was another opportunity to make money, so he looked embarrassed and said:

Modern people may not understand it, but for these vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty, the temptation of poetry and distant places was equally unstoppable.

These vassal kings, apart from taking care of the people's livelihood and military affairs in their own territories, spend most of their time having fun and enjoying themselves.

But in the past, they only had horse-drawn carriages for them to travel, which was not only inconvenient but also extremely bumpy.

Everyone heard the sound and looked over, only to see Zhu Zhen lying on the ground with his butt sticking out.

At this time, Zhu Xiongying had just finished handling government affairs and was preparing to have dinner with Zhu Yuanzhang. When he saw Cao Wei arriving, he couldn't help but ask:
"Why are the Grand Master here at this time? You haven't eaten yet, and you happen to be with me."

"The Grand Master doesn't know something. My daughter and her mother are very beautiful. They are already tall and graceful at a young age. In the future, they will surely become the most beautiful women in the world. They are also well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They are of high quality. Lan Xin, Grand Master, you... Ouch!"

Cao Wei still stood there with his hands folded, but he frowned, as if he was thinking about who to let on the plane next...

Instructing the eunuch to prepare another pair of bowls and chopsticks, Zhu Xiongying pulled Cao Wei to sit down, and Cao Wei followed suit and had another royal meal.

Cao Wei turned around this time. Zhu Zhen thought it was a good idea and hurriedly hit the railroad while it was hot:

"Say," Cao Wei didn't even look back at him, knowing that he wasn't holding his shit back.

In ancient times, carriages and horses were very slow, and a letter from home was worth ten thousand yuan. This was not a romance unique to the ancients, but a helplessness caused by real conditions.

"The plane matter is very important. I can't make the decision. It's better for the princes to discuss it with His Majesty."

After experiencing the convenience and magic of airplanes, the enthusiasm of all the feudal lords for airplanes only increased, and they all began to think of building an airport in their fiefdoms and flying around every day.

This airplane is much more trouble-free and more majestic than a horse-drawn carriage. Even the trains that are laying tracks across the country at this time are not bound by the railroad tracks? There is no such comfort as an airplane.

It was just that after a lot of trouble today, it was getting late, so the vassal kings decided to go to the palace to discuss the matter with Zhu Xiongying tomorrow.

Several people thought about it and felt that it was indeed the case. As vassal kings, they might have bad intentions, but their military and political sense would not be weak.

At first glance, this aircraft is an important weapon of the country. Without Zhu Xiongying's permission, no one can interfere.

After eating, the eunuch and the palace maid packed everything, and Zhu Xiongying looked at Cao Wei again.

"What's wrong with Grand Master? It's worth running to the palace so late."

Zhu Yuanzhang planned to go back to the palace after dinner, but he was no longer in a hurry. Once Cao Wei came, there was never any trivial matter.

Cao Wei took the brocade handkerchief handed over by the palace maid and wiped his mouth clean, then told the story of how all the vassal kings came to the manufacturing bureau today.

"Uncles Wang want to build an airport in their fiefdom?" Zhu Xiongying looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and thought this was normal.

One of the uses of airplanes is to use them as a means of travel. The feudal kings are vassalized in their fiefdoms, and having airplanes can be more convenient. The worst is to only build airplanes for them and not develop technology for them.

As long as his uncles are honest and don't cause any trouble, it's not a big deal to give them a few planes.

"What's so inappropriate?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked aloud. He didn't think it was worth Cao Wei's special trip in the dark.

Cao Wei looked at Zhu Xiongying and then at Zhu Yuanzhang, thinking about the words in his mind. The two of them did not rush him, but quietly waited for him to speak.

"Your Majesty, old man, do you still remember the law of public ownership of land?"

After a long while, Cao Wei asked.

Both of them were slightly startled. Why did they mention that the land was public?

Zhu Xiongying nodded and said with a smile:
"Of course I remember that it was an excellent national policy given to me by the Grand Master, and it was also the first decree I promulgated. To this day, it seems that the public ownership of land has really brought endless benefits to the Ming Dynasty. Although the process is a bit more difficult, it is It’s worth it, not only has local people’s sentiment become much more stable, but food taxes have also increased year by year.”

Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded slightly with a smile on his face. At first, Cao Wei said that the land has a plan that can extend the life of the Ming Dynasty for five hundred years. Now it seems that it is indeed true.

Cao Wei also smiled, then his smile faded and he said:
"So, Your Majesty and the old man, do you want to give Ming Dynasty another few hundred years of life?"

As soon as Cao Wei finished speaking, the sitting postures of the two of them changed. Zhu Yuanzhang was lying slightly and sat upright. Zhu Xiongying... he sat up straighter.

"Master, if you have any good ideas, please tell me quickly. I am all ears."

Cao Wei looked at Zhu Yuanzhang on the side, his expression a little unnatural. "Look at what we are doing. If you have anything to say, can we still eat you?" Zhu Yuanzhang was looked at by him several times and couldn't stand it anymore, as if he was in his way.

Cao Wei smacked his lips and said, "This matter has something to do with the vassal kings."

"Old man, don't be impatient after hearing what I say next."

Zhu Yuanzhang's thick white brows frowned, and he waved his hands and said, "Are we so stingy?"

After receiving the guarantee, Cao Wei felt relieved and said: "In addition to the previous land imbalance, the Ming Dynasty also has another problem, that is, fiscal expenditure is also extremely uneven."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his face became serious. He probably knew what Cao Wei was going to say.

Sure enough, Cao Wei's voice was heard the next moment.

"The old man made a lot of mistakes when it came to the issue of enfeoffment among the kings."

When Zhu Xiongying heard this, he was shocked and quickly turned to look at Zhu Yuanzhang. When he saw his serious face, he knew that things were a little tricky this time.

Neither the grandfather nor the grandson of the Zhu family spoke, but Cao Wei could not give up halfway and could only bite the bullet and continue:

"When I proposed the idea of ​​public land, it was to solve the problem of land annexation in the Ming Dynasty, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty would have land in their hands, and they could grow food to make a living and live and work in peace and contentment."

"The common people are very important to a dynasty, but this is not the only important thing. There is also the financial expenditure issue of the Ming Central Court."

"In those days, the old man competed in the world and aspired to the supreme position. He gave fiefdoms to all the vassals and gave them annual stipends."

"Looking at it now, everything is normal. The imperial court can still afford the annual stipends given to the kings, but..."

At this point, Cao Wei stopped, and Zhu Yuanzhang frowned further in dissatisfaction, "Continue."

"But if the Ming Dynasty continues to follow this pattern, and the kings have more and more heirs, the pressure on the court to participate in political affairs will become greater and greater. One day, the Ming Dynasty may have to spend the entire country's annual income on Spend half of it to support the royal family, this... is definitely not a long-term solution."

Cao Wei has said it very euphemistically. According to the legal system established by Zhu Yuanzhang, if the court supports many princes and nobles who are not engaged in production, sooner or later the Ming Dynasty will be deeply mired in quagmire, causing irreparable serious consequences.

Cao Wei has already seen the fatal problem in today's incident.

The vassal kings Zhu Xi, Zhu Fan, and Zhu Chen took out fifty thousand to one hundred thousand taels of silver, just to fly on the plane, as if these tens of thousands of taels of silver were blown by the strong wind.

There are not many vassals in the Ming Dynasty now, so it is nothing to squander money for them every year. After all, they are the descendants of the royal family, and they deserve to enjoy happiness in this life.

But if there is no restriction before this condition, no matter how the Ming Dynasty develops, it will reach the situation like that of Jiajing and Wanli. That is, as time goes by, the number of royal descendants increases from generation to generation, and the annual income is collected and divided among the princes and grandchildren. After that, it has bottomed out and the court has no money.

What should the court do if it has no money? Increase tax collection and continue to collect taxes, completely treating the people as wool-producing sheep.

The most well-known among them is the story of Emperor Jiajing and his father and son Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet. Why did Emperor Jiajing become so frantic and join forces with Yan Song to plunder the people? Therefore, it is said among the people: Jiajing, Jiajing, every family was clean. Did Jiajing not know that this was wrong? It's because he really has no choice.

Because of the war between the north and the south, the annual tax revenue during the Jiajing period was less than 400 million at most. After the tax revenue was collected, it was first divided among the descendants of the kings. Then Emperor Jiajing found that he only had three melons and two dates left in his hand, and even gave them to himself. There was no money to build a Taoist temple, let alone rectify the army and put down the war.

Although the land ownership policy solved the problem of land transfer in the hands of the common people, the few acres of land in the hands of the common people could never support the increasing taxes of the imperial court year by year.

"Grand Master, what you said is a bit exaggerated," Zhu Xiongying noticed that Zhu Yuanzhang's face was getting more and more ugly, and he spoke, trying to excuse Cao Wei.

He also felt that what Cao Wei said was reasonable, but this system was set by Zhu Yuanzhang. How can you resist Zhu Yuanzhang?

It's not that Cao Wei couldn't see Zhu Yuanzhang's face getting darker and darker, but it was just that he had already said this, and he had already offended Zhu Yuanzhang. If he didn't point it out and solve the problem in one go, all he had done, in the end And they want to make wedding clothes for others.

"Alas..." Cao Wei sighed, "Your Majesty, let's settle the score."

"According to the law, the annual salary of the prince of Ming Dynasty is 50,000 dan, and that of the county prince is 5,000 dan. I won't mention the county prince, only the prince."

"The old man has twenty-six sons in total. Now, there are twenty-four princes with titles and fiefs. The annual salary that the court has to pay to the princes is 1.2 million dan."

No matter how you look at it, this number is not small, but for the overall finance of the Ming Dynasty, it is just a drop in the bucket. So, let’s continue the calculation.

"This is the salary of the first generation of princes. The second generation... I remember that the old man did not restrict the princes from having heirs."

"Then for each prince, five descendants will be added to the royal family. The number of second-generation princes and county princes combined will be one hundred and twenty."

"Excluding the twenty-four princes who inherited the throne, there are still ninety-six county princes. At this time, it is time to calculate the annual salary of the county princes. The annual salary of the sixty-nine county princes is forty. Seventy thousand dan, plus the 1.2 million dan from the twenty-four princes, it’s nearly 1.7 million.”

"In the third generation, still counting five people, the princes and heirs came... six hundred people."

Hearing this, Zhu Xiongying took a deep breath in his heart.

Not that he didn't know, this calculation directly chilled his mental arithmetic. It was only the third generation, and the number of Qin kings and county kings in the Ming Dynasty had already surged to 600!
"It's still 576 million for the twenty-four princes, plus the county princes, their annual salary is million..."

At this point, Cao Wei was actually very nervous, because Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting next to him, looked extremely ugly.

Cao Wei swallowed and continued talking.

"Next is the fourth generation. The total number of princes and county kings has reached 3000."

"Gudong," Cao Wei couldn't help but swallowed again, three thousand people! What a terrifying amount! Even three thousand pigs would eat up a mountain, but what about three thousand Ming princes?
"At this time, the annual salary of the twenty-four princes is no longer important. The annual salary of the 2976 county princes is million..."

"Then, the fifth generation..."

"That's enough!" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shouted loudly, interrupting Cao Wei. The latter immediately closed his mouth, and the air in the room seemed to freeze.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak, and Zhu Xiongying and Cao Wei did not dare to speak out.

After a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Cao Wei expressionlessly:
"That's it for today. Let's go back."

(End of this chapter)