Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 152 The Ming Dynasty version of the country system
Hall of Spring Harmony.

In the prince's study.

"Xiao Wang plans to follow the example of the early Zhou Dynasty and adopt the national policy of dividing countrymen and barbarians from the beginning of the establishment of Shen State."

Zhu Mo planned to build the capital as the first step after arriving in the fiefdom.

He took the generals, officials, officers and soldiers, and civilians who accompanied him to Nurgan as the core, accommodated some local Tu people who were pro-Ming, and built a new political, military, and social group that spanned tribes and cultures, that is, the Shen Kingdom in a theoretical sense. .

The accompanying officials, officers and soldiers, and craftsmen mostly lived in the capital, and the household residents lived either in the city or in the surrounding areas. Most of them still relied on agriculture and formed their own villages.

These people, together with the Hanized Tu people who were close to the Ming Dynasty, were all "nationals" of Shen State.

As for the local native Tu people, regardless of their superiority or inferiority, they are all vassals of Shen State, that is, "savages".

In other words, the distinction between country and wilderness is not a spatial concept of inside and outside, nor a distinction between urban and rural areas, but a tribal concept with political affiliation.

"While the little king is building the capital, he will also assign his generals to go to specific areas to build fortresses and cities. The accompanying people will either live in the city or in nearby settlements."

Zhu Mo continued.

Zhu Gaoxu understood that the generals who were assigned by Zhu Mo to build fortresses or cities everywhere would take charge of several surrounding villages with the fortress or city as the center, forming an urban and rural community of "nationals".

Within the local Tu tribes and villages, there is still "village autonomy" or "tribal autonomy."

They retained the original interdependence between cities and villages, and coexisted with the "nationals" of Shen State who were the pioneers of the Ming Dynasty.

"According to Xiao Wang's idea, a single citizen of Shen State does not have the privilege to deal with a single savage. Only the officials or soldiers of Shen State have the power to deal with savages according to their scope of authority."

Zhu Mo explained: "That is to say, the savages are not privately owned by any Shen people, but directly belong to the Shen state and are members of the Shen state."

"In addition, the people of the country need to bear military service or land tax, and only those who have the right to join the army are qualified to participate in the governance of Shen State."

“Savages, like untouchables without household registration, cannot own land or real estate in Shen’s cities, and their children are not qualified to enter Shen’s social schools or academies, nor are they qualified to work, do business, or farm in areas directly under the jurisdiction of Shen. He is also not qualified to take the scientific examination to become an official or to join the army."

"Only the chiefs of the savage tribes or village chiefs, or the savages designated by them, are qualified to trade with the people of the Shen Kingdom, or to visit and study in the cities of the Shen Kingdom."

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "This idea sounds good, but how to implement it specifically? Does my uncle have a plan?"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is wise. Although the country system seems simple, it is difficult to implement. Therefore, Xiao Wang plans to incorporate the distinction between country and country into the household registration system, using household registration to distinguish between countrymen and savages, and demarcate the status of the two. .”

Zhu Mo was worried that it would be difficult for Zhu Gaoxu to understand the country's control after being "mutated" by him.

So he first gave a brief introduction to Shen Guo's system to Zhu Gaoxu.

"After His Majesty the Fourth Brother allowed the vassals to establish the country, he followed the example of the imperial court's five offices, six departments, governor's office, general administration department, Dali Temple and other yamen, and established the prince's governor's office. The prince directly took charge of the military affairs of the vassal state. In addition, he set up six departments, and the governor's office. , General Administration Bureau, Guoliji Temple and other yamen manage other affairs of the vassal state."

"Therefore, Xiao Wang plans to order the Shen State Household Office to issue a 'household sticker' to every Chinese household in Shen State."

"The household sticker records in detail the amount of land owned by this household and the amount of land tax it should bear."

"Furthermore, Xiao Wang intends to follow the imperial court's one-whip rule and the system of dividing a man's land into an acre. Therefore, for Chinese people who specialize in farming, there are no extra handymen and men's taxes in Shen State, only land taxes. Of course, doing business or buying handicrafts Workshops must have separate business taxes and industrial taxes.”

Both Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di understood that although each vassal state was called a country, they were governed by the same imperial court and governed a province. They were nominally the local administrative offices of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact they were equivalent to a small imperial court.

Therefore, in order to facilitate the vassal kings to manage domestic affairs, Zhu Di agreed that each vassal country should implement systems that were different from those in the Ming Dynasty, such as the household registration system, military service system, imperial examination system, etc., but in general they should not violate the "Da Ming Law" and "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" 》These two sets of fundamental laws of the Ming Dynasty.

Historically, the text of the "Da Ming Code" is simpler than that of the Tang Code, but its legislative technology is more sophisticated, the style is more complete and scientific, and its legislative spirit is far stricter than the Tang Code and Song Code, so that it has a certain influence on later generations. The impact is far-reaching.

Zhu Mo continued: "This household allowance system is the same as that in the Ming Dynasty. It clarifies the land tax borne by each household. It is a kind of protection for the property of Shen people. There will not be much resistance to its implementation."

"Yes, after those lower-class people who followed their uncles to the fiefdoms have household subsidies, they can farm their land steadily and will not move easily."

Zhu Gaoxu picked up the tea cup, took a sip of water, and said: "In the future, those who cultivate land will pay the land tax according to the land tax quota on the household stickers, which effectively avoids problems such as local officials filling their own pockets or uneven taxation."

Zhu Mo said: "Xiao Wang's plan, in addition to implementing the household allowance system, Shen State also implements the yellow registration system."

The so-called "yellow list" system needs to be implemented in conjunction with the "lijia system". One li is divided into 110 households, and the ten households with more grains are considered to be the longest. The remaining [-] households are called shijia, with ten people in each li.

Each household fills in the real household registration information and then submits it to the chief, who then submits it to the head of the village. The head of the village is responsible for classifying the households in each "li" according to their township, name, age, population, land, property, and assets. They will be registered one by one and finally submitted to Shen Guo Household Office, which will be updated every ten years according to the imperial system.

Under the provisions of the yellow list system, the land tax borne by the population in each "li" is relatively equal, so that the problem of tax concentration can be avoided.

If a certain household has a problem, other households in the same "li" must share the household's land tax, thus ensuring Shen Guo's land tax income.

Zhu Gaoxu knew that the yellow registration system was the longest-running household registration system in the Ming Dynasty in history, and it was also the basis for the Ming Dynasty's tax collection.

Before the yellow registration system, the household registration system of all dynasties was "top-down", that is, statistics were carried out from top to bottom by the imperial household department, provinces, prefectures and counties.

The yellow registration system is just the opposite. Each household fills in the real household registration information and then submits it step by step. Finally, it is sent to the states and counties, and then to the province and the Ministry of Household Affairs. This is a bottom-up process.

All localities conduct statistics every year, and the Ministry of Household Affairs conducts large-scale updates every ten years.

The household registration system implemented by Zhu Yuanzhang was more detailed than that of previous dynasties. Through the yellow registration system, the imperial court could accurately grasp the population and land situation in the country.

In the Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang edited the household registration, with the purpose of "distinguishing the noble and the humble and correcting the names", the household registration was divided according to occupation into clan households, official and gentry households, civilian households (farmers, Confucian, medical, Yin and Yang), military households ( School lieutenants, warriors, bowmen, military craftsmen), craftsmen (cooks, tailors, horsemen), kitchen households (salt households), merchants, post households, etc.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also knows that in fact, a person registered as a military household may work as a chef or other profession after entering the military."

"The registration of household registration is not all based on occupations. Generally speaking, there are four categories: civilian households, military households, craftsmen households, and kitchen households. Weaver households, for example, fall into the category of civilian households."

Zhu Mo continued: "Therefore, Xiao Wang decided to implement a household registration system in the Shen Kingdom that was completely different from that in the Ming Dynasty. He divided the household registration system in the Shen Kingdom into three types, namely official households, military households, and civilian households."

"These three types of household registration are under the jurisdiction of different yamen respectively. Civilian registration is under the jurisdiction of the Shen Guohu Office, while military registration is under the jurisdiction of the Prince Dudu Mansion. Except for the royal household registration, which is managed by the genealogical directory set up by Shen Guozong, the rest of the official registration It is managed by Shen Guo’s official office.”

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "How does uncle plan to divide these three household registrations?"

"Official household registration includes the household registration of royal families and civil and military officials, which is the same as local clan households and official and gentry households."

Zhu Mo introduced.

The royal household registration, that is, the household registration of the Ming Dynasty clan, is superior to other people. According to the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions", clans with titles not only do not need to bear taxes, but also have many judicial privileges. If a crime is committed, the local government is not allowed to directly Seizure.

As for the household registration of officials and gentry, according to the Ming Dynasty's established code, "the family of a meritorious official has land, except for the grain and grass, and the labor service, the rest are exempted."

In the original history, in the Ming Dynasty, there was no such thing as complete tax exemption for officials and gentry. There was only a certain amount of tax-free land.

From the beginning of the imperial examination, the imperial court granted them a certain limit of tax-free land. In the future, the higher the rank of the official, the more tax-free land they were granted. However, the cultivated land exceeding the prescribed limit still had to pay grain. Even a first-grade official No exemption.

The reason for the "complete tax exemption" in the mid-Ming Dynasty was that officials colluded with each other and failed to collect taxes according to regulations.

However, it can be seen that the taxes borne by the families of officials and gentry are limited, and most of the real tax burden falls on the common people.

Zhu Mo took a sip of water and continued: "The military household registration refers to the military household among the local professional households in the Ming Dynasty."

“As for the civilian household registration, that is, the civilian household registration, it covers the thirteen types of professional households in the Ming Dynasty, namely civilian households, tenant households, tea households, fisher households, horse households, mining households, craftsmen households, weaver households, boat households, merchant households, and business households. households, shop households, salt households and other households.”

"Because civilians and military households occupy most of the land in Shen State, they all need to bear land tax. In addition, they are untouchables, slaves, etc. who are not registered, collectively called untouchables." Zhu Gaoxu knew that the so-called untouchables were all They are not included in the yellow list and have no political power, but they have a strict affiliation with their masters.

According to the provisions of the Ming Dynasty Code, common people were prohibited from keeping slaves and maidservants, but the households of officials and gentry were not restricted from keeping slaves.

Of course, in addition to the well-known slaves and servants, untouchable people also include sin slaves. That is, after an official's home was confiscated, his wife and children were sentenced to sin slaves, and were either exiled or sold off.

In addition, untouchables also include people who are discriminated against, such as lazy people, Leji, official prostitutes, etc.

Once you enter a lowly status, you will remain a lowly status for generations, unless someone is willing to put in the effort to cancel it.

"For those citizens of the Shen State who have committed crimes and failed to repay their debts, they will be deprived of their Ming Dynasty Shen nationality and become untouchables who are not included in the household registration yellow list. Only after the debts are paid off or the crime is expunged can they apply to the local government to restore their household registration. .”

Zhu Mo continued: "In order to control the population and prevent the emergence of refugees, Xiao Wang decided to follow the example of Emperor Taizu and strictly ordered that household registration must be passed down from generation to generation and cannot be changed at will. Civilians are not allowed to travel far away at will. If there is no farming and no one specializes in farming, he will be regarded as the author. If they are homeless, they will be arrested.”

According to the "Da Ming Code", "If someone cheats and pretends to escape, or avoids the serious and takes the easy, he will be punished with eighty sticks. Those who pretend to be exempted from the lawsuit, and those who tamper with the edition will be punished with the same crime."

Zhu Gaoxu said, "Uncle, you should know that this kind of policy will tie farmers to the land and make them farmers for generations. Although it is conducive to reclaiming farmland and promoting agriculture in Shen State, it is not conducive to the prosperity of Shen State's industry and commerce."

"His Royal Highness is wise."

Zhu Mo first complimented, and then continued: "In view of this, Xiao Wang refers to the old system of Emperor Taizu and allows children with military and civilian status to apply for official status after passing the scientific examination and entering the officialdom. If they marry the royal family, they can also Apply for change of household registration.”

Zhu Gaoxu knew that according to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty: "'Prostitutes, elites, scribes, soldiers' and their descendants are not allowed to enter the examination or donate to prison."

In other words, both civilians and salt merchants and other children of ethnic origins can participate in the scientific examination. Therefore, the rule of King Shen and Zhu Mo does not violate the Ming Law.

Emperor Gao, the great ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, once said: "The family of a wealthy person is equal to the common people, and those who serve in service are the common people's affairs. If a wise man and a gentleman value his body and return to serve his family, then the gentleman and the barbarian have nothing to do with it." The distinction is not the way to persuade scholars to treat the worthy."

"Xiao Wang plans that the Shen State will implement the same imperial examination system as the Ming Dynasty in selecting officials. And in terms of absorbing and transforming barbarians into nationals, it will implement the ritual examination system."

Zhu Mo talked about the system from Shen State to the household registration system. After laying the groundwork for so long, he finally mentioned the national system that he had "mutated".

After Zhu Gaoxu heard the word "Li Kao", he asked: "I wonder what kind of system the 'Li Kao' designed by my uncle is?"

"To be honest with you, the prince, the 'ritual examination system' designed by Xiao Wang is actually the Han family's etiquette examination system. It is an innovation of the national system, with the purpose of 'turning barbarians into summer'."

Zhu Mo couldn't hide his pride and said with a smile: "The main content of the ritual test is to speak Chinese, write Chinese characters, and use Chinese rituals. In addition, the examiner's ancestors are researched. After finding a Chinese ancestor for him, this talent Qualified to become a citizen of Shen State."

"The barbarians who pass the rites examination will become citizens of Shen State, possess all the rights of citizens, and obtain civilian household registration of Shen State in the Ming Dynasty. If they are selected to join the army, they will be granted military registration."

"Of course, after becoming a Chinese citizen, you can take the scientific examination, become an official, and then further apply to change to an official household and become a human superior."

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he immediately touched his palms and praised: "This test is very wonderful!"

Zhu Mo was a little embarrassed by the praise and said: "The above is Xiao Wang's idea. I would like to ask His Highness the Crown Prince to correct it."

"Which savages does uncle plan to let take part in the ceremonial examination?"

Zhu Gaoxu neither criticized nor gave instructions, but asked a question.

Zhu Mo thought deeply: "Your Highness, Xiao Wang believes that all Tu tribes who cannot speak Chinese are savages."

"Learning to speak Chinese is the prerequisite for a barbarian to become a citizen of the Shen Kingdom. As long as he learns to speak simple Chinese and perform some simple Chinese etiquette, he will be qualified to be hired as a domestic servant by the people of the Shen Kingdom, or be recruited by the Prince's Governor's Mansion as a servant. Auxiliary soldiers.”

"If a savage signs a five-year employment contract with a Chinese, after the expiration of the term, he can go to the yamen in the city where he applies for household registration to fill out an application form for the ceremonial examination, or the employer, the Chinese, can hand over a sum of money on his behalf to help him apply for the ceremonial examination in advance."

"In addition, auxiliary soldiers with barbarian origins can directly apply to take the ceremonial examination after their service period. Those who pass the test will automatically receive the Shen nationality of the Ming Dynasty given by Xiao Wang. Their children will also automatically become Shen nationals and obtain the Ming Dynasty household registration. .”

Zhu Gaoxu thought: "Savages are prohibited from entering the city, so naturally they cannot enjoy the rights that only Chinese people have, such as going to school, seeing a doctor, doing business, working, etc. And there are also savages in the vast forest wilderness outside the direct jurisdiction of Shen State established by his uncle. These savages should Treat them differently from the savages in the area directly under the jurisdiction of Shen State."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right!"

Zhu Mo's eyes lit up and he said: "The barbarians in the jurisdiction of Shen State who want to become citizens do not have to work for the people for five years or serve as auxiliary soldiers. As long as they can pass the ceremonial examination, they will be considered as citizens of Shen State!"

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and added: "Uncle, my nephew thinks that in addition to this, if a savage wants to become a citizen of the Shen Kingdom, there should be four more shortcuts."

"I would like to hear the details." Zhu Mo tilted his upper body and said respectfully.

Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile: "The first one is good luck. His biological father is a native of Shen State, and he is a native of Shen State since he was born."

When Zhu Mo heard this, a scene emerged in his mind, that is, many savage women wanted to marry people from the Shen Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty.

He immediately smiled and said: "This shortcut is very good!"

"Second, once the chief of the Tu tribe's savage tribe or the head of the savage village expresses his willingness to surrender to the Ming Dynasty and accept the rule of Shen State, he can be exempted from the ceremonial examination, receive a gift from his uncle, and become a citizen of Shen State of Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "The third type, the savages who have made great contributions to the Shen State, will receive the gift of their uncle and become members of the Shen State of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Mo echoed: "In this way, the heroes among the savages will all become citizens of the Shen Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty."

"Exactly that."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: "There is also a fourth way, which allows barbarians who can speak Chinese to use money and grain to buy from local yamen under the rule of Shen Guo or exchange for national status. As for how much grain to use, my uncle will decide at that time."

The four shortcuts he proposed are equivalent to backdoors specially provided for those who admire Chinese etiquette and are good at cheating.

"His Royal Highness is brilliant!"

Zhu Mulu thought for a while and quickly understood what Zhu Gaoxu meant, and couldn't help but sigh.

"One more thing, uncle must revise the old customs of those barbarians who have obtained the status of nationals."

Zhu Gaoxu added: "Any old custom of the primitive people that violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty must be absolutely prohibited. Those who do not violate the laws must be allowed to continue."

"At the same time, they are required to strictly abide by Chinese etiquette, such as tying their hair, repairing graves to worship their ancestors, etc. Otherwise, they will be deprived of their identity as Chinese citizens for violating the laws and forgetting their ancestors."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right, barbarian customs that violate laws and regulations should be banned."

Zhu Mo first said something in agreement, and then said incomprehensively: "But since the barbarians chose to become commoners of the Ming Dynasty, they recognized the Chinese ancestors as their ancestors. They should instead regard themselves as descendants of the Chinese, practice Chinese etiquette, and give up the old customs. "

Zhu Gaoxu asked in return: "The people of Qilu and Jingchu have their own customs. Are the people of Qilu and Jingchu not ethnically Chinese?"

When he said this, he stared into Zhu Mo's eyes and said solemnly: "The sea is open to all rivers, and tolerance is great. My uncle is a prince, so he should have a mind that is open to all rivers!"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gave instructions."

Zhu Mo raised his hand and saluted Zhu Gaoxu: "Xiao Wang has learned a lesson."

PS: This chapter mainly introduces the mainstream system after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.This kind of national system integrated into the household registration system is far gentler than the bloody colonial exploitation.

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(End of this chapter)