Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 50: The Origin of Disasters in the Northwest

Zhu Tianqi couldn't help but be startled when he heard this, but then he felt relieved. The Ming Dynasty's cabinet was already extremely powerful, and if they met an emperor who didn't care about anything, wasn't it a sign that they were deceived?
Moreover, Xu Guangqi's words have already saved him face. If he followed Zhu Youxiao's previous behavior, he would be too lazy to approve the cabinet votes. The Chief of Ceremonies would directly "approval" on his behalf. He might not even Will be informed.

But Zhu Tianqi had a question: "Then why are they going to so much trouble? Don't they know that allocating food for disaster relief nearby is the best option?"

Xu Guangqi replied: "Officials all know about it, but officials everywhere are responsible for their own affairs. Who is willing to care about other people's lives? Whether there is a disaster in northern Shaanxi or banditry, the court will hold them accountable and arrest them." He is also an official from northern Shaanxi, so what does he have to do with officials from southern Shaanxi?

Of course, this cannot be blamed on the ruthlessness of the officials in southern Shaanxi, because although the prefectures and counties in southern Shaanxi have some surplus grain, if these grains are sent to northern Shaanxi for emergency relief, and southern Shaanxi also suffers from disaster, who will come to help? Are they donating food?At that time, wouldn't it be possible to save others with your kindness, but you would be left in the dark? "

After Zhu Tianqi heard this, he understood everything immediately, "So they all relied on their own connections to find ways to keep the food in their hands, and then watched the brothers around them lose their heads, and watched the people being tortured alive. starve?"

Xu Guangqi sighed, shook his head helplessly, and continued: "Although everyone knows that allocating food nearby is the best strategy, because there are many interests involved, in the end, this disaster relief plan is often just a Just follow the ancestral system and conventions, that is, let the imperial court distribute money and food, and appoint officials to go to the disaster relief.

But Your Majesty, you should have guessed that if the court distributes disaster relief money and food, how much of it will be distributed to the victims?Even if it is distributed, according to the food prices in the disaster-stricken areas in previous disaster years, it will be difficult for the victims to buy enough food and clothing with the small amount of silver in their hands! "

After listening to what Xu Guangqi said, Zhu Tianqi felt really cold. This was just a drought in ordinary years discussed. If it were replaced by the seven consecutive years of drought in Shaanxi that he would face next, it would be really cold. I don’t know what tricks these corrupt officials will play!

After Xu Guangqi finished speaking the first point, he saw that Zhu Tianqi's face was no longer very good-looking, so he had to stop talking, bowed his hands, and asked: "Your Majesty, do you want to continue?"

Zhu Tianqi nodded slowly and said, "Speak!"

After hearing this, Xu Guangqi continued: "The second thing is about the banditry in Shaanxi. I believe that the reason why more and more bandits are being suppressed in Shaanxi is not just because there are problems in the suppression work, but because the court has not solved the banditry problem. source."

When Zhu Tianqi heard this, he immediately felt that what Xu Guangqi said was very insightful, and immediately asked: "In Xu Aiqing's opinion, what is the source of this banditry?"

Xu Guangqi immediately replied: "I believe that there are two sources of banditry, one is corvee service, and the other is payment arrears!

The imperial court's taxation has always followed the ancestral system, and it is difficult for subordinate officials to cheat. However, corvee service has become the main means for officials to practice favoritism and exploit the people. In fact, the reason why the people are in hardship is not because of the small taxes collected by the imperial court. Mainly because of the excessive levy of labor.

Because there is no fixed number of corvees, officials from various places often distribute them at will. The people are miserable. Their labor is often in vain and they cannot earn a penny. It may even miss the farming season, which will affect the harvest. If taxes cannot be paid, the whole family will go hungry.If you are afraid of missing the farming season and don't want to contribute, you will have to pay money to beg to be exempted from corvee labor. If the people can't even eat, how can they have money to give to these corrupt officials?Your Majesty, tell me, the people have been oppressed to this extent, can there be any reason not to rebel?
Furthermore, there is the matter of arrears of pay. Many soldiers have not been able to receive their pay for many years, and their lives are extremely difficult, even worse than that of ordinary people. These soldiers have been oppressed by the officers for a long time, and they have long been dissatisfied with the court, so they Go to suppress the bandits, but I am afraid that the bandits will not be defeated, but they will all defect to the rebels. If they fall into the trap and become bandits, they will also rebel!

The pros and cons of this, I don't need to go into details, the emperor's sage must have seen the disadvantages, so he asked the minister and Sun Shangshu to check the owed salary and pay, and reissue it as soon as possible! "

Zhu Tianqi nodded, exhaled, and said: "Xu Aiqing, every word of what you said hit the point. In fact, I have been thinking about these things for a long time. The salary and salary arrears must be paid as soon as possible. Coming down, after the arrears of salary and wages are paid, the first thing to do is to reform the tax and labor system. I have mentioned this to you before, and I intend to leave this matter to you!"

When Xu Guangqi went to Beijing with Sun Yuanhua to meet the saint for the first time after returning to Beijing, Zhu Tianqi had already told him the plan to reform the tax and service, and said at that time that he would leave the matter to Xu Guangqi, so Xu Guangqi has long been mentally prepared to take on this important task.

Dang Ji stood up, knelt on the ground, and said with a firm expression: "Your Majesty, I will do my best to reform the taxation and labor service, and live up to the trust of the Emperor!"

Looking at the famous and capable ministers in history, who wouldn’t want to make a revolutionary feat?Xu Guangqi was no exception. He was able to gain the emperor's trust and get this opportunity to express his ambition. While he was excited, he also lamented his luck in being able to meet the Ming Lord.

Zhu Tianqi raised his hand and said: "Okay, Xu Aiqing, please get up quickly. When you finish the work on the tax and labor reform, I will discuss it in detail with you. Regarding the Shaanxi matter, I still have a few more questions." I have a question for you."

Xu Guangqi had no choice but to stand up first when he heard the words, and stood respectfully in front of the Longshu case, waiting for Zhu Tianqi to ask questions.

Zhu Tianqi then said: "After listening to your analysis just now, Xu Aiqing, I have a good idea of ​​how to deal with the disaster and banditry in Shaanxi. But I still want to ask, if all the problems you mentioned are solved, But God is not kind to us, and the disaster in Shaanxi has continued for several years, and even the food supplies of the provinces in southern Shaanxi have become unsustainable, so what should we do?"

After hearing this, Xu Guangqi immediately understood what Zhu Tianqi meant. After thinking for a while, he replied: "If all the current problems in Shaanxi can be solved and we just deal with natural disasters, I think we should start from two aspects. .

One is to limit the types of local crops and encourage local people to adapt to local conditions and plant crops that are cold and drought-resistant and easier to survive, such as millet, which is the millet that is commonly eaten in daily life.

The northwest has a long history of growing millet, and millet is easier to store and more durable than rice. A pot of rice porridge may only require one spoonful of millet, while rice porridge requires at least a bowl, and the same amount is required. A bowl of rice porridge and millet porridge are also more anti-hungry than rice porridge! "

　I wish you all a Happy New Year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)