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Chapter 117 Explaining the Reform
"Apart from the two above, there is one more expert who needs to be mentioned first, and that is Li Shizhen, who wrote the Compendium of Materia Medica. Let's mention it first, and I won't go into details. I will explain it in detail when I mention famous doctors later."

"Then there is Yan Song, who is very famous in later generations. He appears in many movies and TV dramas. This person mostly appears as a traitorous minister."

"There is also a great talent named Xu Wei. I remember that there was a TV series called Xu Wenchang's Biography, which was mainly about him. He, Yang Shen and Xie Jin were called the three greatest talents of the Ming Dynasty."

"Okay, let's talk about Emperor Jiajing here first. After that, because time is limited, let's skip Emperor Longqing who has not been on the throne for a long time, and talk about Emperor Wanli directly."

"This is another emperor who has not been in court for 20 years."

Many people are counting.

"There was an Emperor Jiajing who hadn't been in court for 20 years, and here's another one who hasn't been in court for 20 years. It's been 40 years in total. It's rare that the Ming Dynasty hasn't collapsed."

"How did they do that?"

"If you don't go to court? What will you do?"

Wuyou would also like to say something at this time, the Ming Dynasty is really special, what is so special about it?The special thing lies in the emperor who specializes in being different.

"Speaking of Wanli, I think he is a typical example of educational failure."

"Emperor Wanli's biological mother, Empress Dowager Li, is very strict, especially when dealing with Wanli. In order for him to receive a good education, he was handed over to the chief assistant Zhang Juzheng to teach."

"As for Zhang Juzheng, he is really a capable minister and very loyal. He also wants to teach the young Wanli well, but we also know that the ancient scholar-officials mainly educated students by beating and scolding. Of course, Zhang Juzheng is definitely not Those who dare to beat the emperor, but his requirements for Wanli are stricter than Queen Mother Li, and he will be severely reprimanded for any bad behavior."

"Who didn't like to be naughty when they were young? Who doesn't want to go out and play. Although Wanli is an emperor, young emperors also like to play. This is nature. If Zhang Juzheng understands education and can guide him well, maybe he can really He taught a generation of wise men, but it was a pity that he only taught enthusiastically according to his own method. This made Wanli behave well in front of others, and he looked like a very smart and kind-hearted hero, but deep down in his heart He has long been annoyed and has full hatred for Zhang Juzheng."

"The Ming Dynasty has gone through several generations of prodigal emperors. By the time of the Wanli Dynasty, it was already full of scars and problems. When it came time to change the law, it would not be able to continue without the law."

"After Zhang Juzheng became the chief assistant, he began to preside over the reform."

"The reform began in the first year of Wanli and ended with Zhang Juzheng's death in the tenth year of Wanli. The main contents include the examination method and the one-whip method. Zhang Juzheng's reform extended the life of the Ming Dynasty for decades, which greatly increased fiscal revenue and improved national defense. However, it is a pity that the reform touched the interests of the big landlords and wealthy classes, and after Zhang Juzheng's death, it was abolished and ended in failure."

"If the reform can continue, maybe the fate of the Ming Dynasty will be changed. Unfortunately, there is no if in this world."

Shihuang remembered that Wuyou talked about Zhang Juzheng's reform before, saying that his reform was very effective.

The First Emperor has been thinking about which direction the Qin Dynasty should go. Should the Qin Dynasty change its laws to survive?How to change the law?
He has been paying attention to the content of the reforms in various dynasties and generations. Hearing this, he couldn't help asking: Fairy, what is the content of Zhang Juzheng's reforms?

Worry-free saw it at a glance.

She was quite excited, very happy.

This is the First Emperor.

Shi Huang talked to her and asked her questions.

What's the matter, even if she doesn't sleep tonight, she has to give Shihuang a good answer, otherwise, she will be sorry for reading so many novels about raising Shihuang in the Ming Dynasty.

"Well, Zulong asked a big question, so let's answer it carefully."

When Liu Che heard this, he became angry and said, "Fairy is partial, so I won't answer my questions."

That's what he said, but he still cheered up and listened carefully.

After all, who doesn't want to know the content of the reform, in case which one is better, you can use it.

Li Shimin was also concentrating on listening.

He also wanted to hear if there would be any good content suitable for Datang.

"Let's first look at the crises faced during the Wanli period."

"One is the problem of land annexation, which is inevitable in all dynasties. All along, when the country was founded, the common people would get the land. In the hands of big landlords and wealthy families, this has made people’s lives increasingly difficult and seriously affected the country’s tax revenue.”

"Of course, except for the Song Dynasty, what I mentioned before was that there was no equalization of land when the Song Dynasty was founded. The land has always been concentrated in the hands of powerful people. As for the reason, everyone knows it."

"The second point is the issue of finances, which is what we call taxation. Let me talk about a set of data. During the Hongwu period, the summer and autumn tax was 2473 million shi for rice and 471 million shi for wheat. In the Zhengde period, it was 2216 million shi for rice. There are 462 million shi of wheat, and after Jiajing, the tax is still falling, leaving only 1822 million shi of rice and 462 million shi of wheat.”

"You know, the population during the Jiajing period was much larger than that during the Hongwu period."

"But why has the population increased, but the tax revenue has decreased? This is related to the first point. Land annexation was serious. In addition, the Ming Dynasty had a huge clan population. Zhu Yuanzhang established the ancestral system and gave preferential treatment to the clan. How many people, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the clan population had exceeded one million, so how could the state finances afford such a large number of royal family and nobles?"

"The third point is the issue of military expenditure, which is closely related to the first two points. The financial crisis, the country has no money, and naturally the military expenditure can only be reduced."

"At this time, border troubles are serious. In the north, Mongolia and Jurchen are constantly invading, and pirates are constantly infesting the seaside. If you want to be safe, you have to strengthen the border defenses. All of these require money."

"And the government is getting looser and more corrupt, and corruption is getting worse..."

"In response to these, Zhang Juzheng began to reform the law. He proposed the test method and the one-whip method. In this account book, officials handle affairs according to the records above, while the six ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate check and register, and conduct inspections month by month. .”

"The examination method controls the six departments through the cabinet, and controls the six ministries through the six departments. This effectively controls officials at all levels from the central to the local level, and clears the way for future reforms."

"Then there is a whip."

(End of this chapter)