A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 98
"I said that even though the kings' soldiers are taken away, the imperial court will not only increase their salaries, but also grant them fields. Why, do you think it's inappropriate?"

Zhu Di stared at Yan Keng with a gloomy face. His tone was very calm, but it could be seen from his face that he was not very happy at this time.

At this time, there were only three people in the imperial study room, the emperor, the prince, and Chen Guogong. The others were kicked out and kept far away. This was a situation that would only occur if extremely important matters were to be discussed.

Zhu Di raised an army against Jianwen, which required the support of the kings, and to be able to secure the throne, he also needed the recognition of the clan, so he certainly did not want to make his reputation bad.Moreover, since he had risen to power by force, he was naturally a little more suspicious, fearing that others would imitate him.Therefore, although he cut down the vassals, he not only retained the wealth and honor of the kings, but also distributed money and fields to them.

It is conceivable that with this overwhelming wealth, the resentment of the kings will dissipate a lot.Zhu Di was quite satisfied with the plan he came up with.

But what he didn't expect was that before he formally proposed it, he just asked his close ministers to discuss it with his son, and he encountered opposition at first.

Yan Keng had already left his seat at this time and knelt on the ground.Although facing the emperor's wrath, his face was firm and he still said word by word:

"I am opposed to Your Majesty increasing the clan's salary and providing Wang Tian with support. This matter may shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty."

Hearing this, Zhu Di's face completely fell. Although he did not speak, the temperature in the entire study dropped to freezing point.

Good guy, I worked so hard to come up with a method, you give me a method that "will shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty"?Damn it if Zhu Di is happy.

His expression became increasingly sinister.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaochi hurried to the side to come to the rescue and said:

"Father, Mr. Chen Guogong is also a loyal person to the country. Why not listen to what he has to say first? I think he would not make such nonsense unless there are huge differences."

Hearing his son say this, Zhu Di's face looked a little better, and he said through his nose: "Yeah."

Seeing Zhu Di's permission, Yan Keng sorted out his thoughts in his head for a while, and then spoke:

"Your Majesty's move is for the consideration of the clan. It is imperative to reduce the vassal status. However, although your Majesty reduced the soldiers of the kings, you gave them several times the money and wealth to enjoy the glory. This shows that your Majesty has a long-term love and care for the kings. The love between brothers can be learned from heaven and earth."

After hearing these words, Zhu Di's expression softened, and he nodded, indicating to the other party to continue speaking.

"Of course, this move also has huge drawbacks."

"Each king has a marriage and has his own heirs. Heirs beget heirs, and the clan will continue throughout the Ming Dynasty for thousands of years."

"According to Taizu's law, the clan is not allowed to engage in other industries and relies entirely on the support of the court. Your Majesty will add several times his salary and give it to the king. The more clans there are, the greater the burden on the court. And the king's field is not taxed. If there are princes in every generation, the tax fields of the Ming Dynasty will be less and less, I am afraid that one day..."

"Furthermore, the salary is distributed by the main line of each vassal. Now that the vassals are of similar blood, there will be no change. After a few generations, the blood will be far apart and there will be no friendship. If the vassals are corrupt, then each clan will be deprived of food and clothing. ?”

"Your Majesty, please be careful."

After saying that, Yan Keng lowered his head and bowed deeply.

He is not a fool. His father also said that there are some things that there is no need to imitate those civil servants and remonstrate to death, but he is somewhat sure about offending Tianyan this time.

Without affecting the development of the family, he naturally hopes that the imperial court will be as prosperous as possible. After all, the family has not developed yet and has to rely on this big tree.

The system of the Ming Dynasty was outrageous, not least because it paid salaries to the clan, because that was what the Song Dynasty did.

The really outrageous thing is that his reduction in rank in the Ming Dynasty was guaranteed.This person is Lieutenant Feng Guo.

The son of Lieutenant Fengguo will never surrender again, he is also Lieutenant Fengguo, and so will his descendants.

Think about it, one life brings two, two brings four... In the end, no matter how low Lieutenant Feng Guo's salary is, it is still a terrifying astronomical figure.

As for their salaries being embezzled by the kings, so that many of these people almost starved to death, that is another matter. That salary was paid by the court.

Lao Zhu cared about his children, but he never thought that his court would be brought down by this.

Zhu Di also didn't expect so much.

When he heard Yan Keng say this, his mind turned slightly and he had already figured out the key. He couldn't help but feel frightened and felt chills all over his body.

Yes, his decision had such a fatal flaw.

Children and grandchildren are inexhaustible. In one or two hundred years, the terrible Lumi of the clan group will become a heavy burden on the back of the imperial court!
Just thinking about that scene is terrifying.

In the world of the imperial court, there are many fields that have become the domain of the feudal princes, and they do not need to pay taxes and perform corvee; the imperial court must also provide a large amount of support to the hundreds of thousands of clan members, otherwise it will bear the infamy of neglecting the clan members.

Even if there was an invasion of foreign enemies in the north, or there were peasant uprisings or natural and man-made disasters inside, the emperor would still have to spend money from the treasury and even internal funds to support these guys who did not benefit the court in the slightest. As a result, the finances became increasingly poor and the foreign enemies and internal invaders could not be quelled. ,at last……

He didn't dare to think about it anymore.

At this time, there was no trace of displeasure on Zhu Di's face!Even a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Zhu Gaochi was even better at government affairs. When he thought about it, he was shocked. This was simply the way to subjugate the country!
"It's true that I misunderstood Aiqing." Zhu Di was not someone who refused to admit his mistakes. He stood up from the dragon chair and stepped down, personally helping Yan Keng up. There was a strong fear in his tone: "Thanks to Aiqing for reminding me, otherwise It could lead to a catastrophe! My dear, what do you suggest?"

"We can imitate the old system of the former Song Dynasty!" Yan Keng replied immediately, he was already confident.

"You mean... let him make a living!" Zhu Di didn't understand this very well, but Zhu Gaochi understood it clearly and couldn't help but blurt out, but then he shut up and looked at Yan Keng with a look of verification.

Yan Keng nodded and said:

"It is natural for Your Majesty to provide glory and wealth, but the clan support system needs to be changed, and it cannot completely follow the system of the former Song Dynasty." After all, the Song Dynasty was indeed rich.

"A quota is set for all feudal princes. The eldest son inherits the title of prince, and the second and third sons become county princes. Although the rest are still given titles, they will not be paid by the court."

"The quota of salary that each branch can receive is fixed. In this way, the clan's birth of children is also restricted." After all, these guys "distribute enfeoffments without adding soil, become nobles without visiting the people, and live with salaries without managing affairs." In addition to having children, these guys , there is nothing else to do, dozens of children have become a common thing.

"The son of Lieutenant Feng Guo will be demoted to a civilian and allowed to have free employment!"

After arriving as Lieutenant of Fengguo, the relationship with the emperor was actually extremely estranged. When they were released to the people, it was the fifth server. At this time, they were allowed to work freely without worrying about any disturbances.

The most important thing is not to give it to Wang Tian.

Treating the salary as a fixed amount and not giving land will not result in the court having "no taxes to collect" in the end.

　I see that Zhu Gaochi’s portrait is not very fat. I even think he is more handsome than Zhu Di.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)