Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 3

"If those with merit and fame are exempted from labor and taxes, in the long run, as the population grows, there will be more and more people with merit and fame."

When Zhu Gaoxu said this, he stopped because he found that Zhu Yuanzhang had closed his eyes.

"Well, continue to explain your understanding, we are listening."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes to rest, he still encouraged Zhu Gaoxu to continue speaking.

Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to continue.

"In order to avoid taxes, many people will inevitably attach themselves to such people with fame and fortune, which will eventually lead to the truly wealthy people paying less taxes. The financial burden of the imperial court will fall on the poor people, so the poor will become poorer and the rich will The richer they become, the emptier the treasury will become."

In ancient China, finance was referred to as "duzhi", "guoyong", "year plan" and "guoji", among which "duzhi" and "guoyong" both refer to the court's expenses, and "year plan" refers to the court's annual income and calculation of expenditures, while "national economy" refers to the finances of the imperial court.

Historically, China did not really use the word "finance" until the late Qing Dynasty.

It's just that Zhu Gaoxu was influenced by the memory of his previous life and invented this term long ago. Zhu Yuanzhang was influenced by it and often used this simple and easy-to-understand term to officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Speaking of this, Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang.

He found that Zhu Yuanzhang's face was calm, and he immediately felt uneasy, fearing that he would say the wrong thing and anger the other party.

Zhu Yuanzhang is an old man. He quietly opened his eyes a thin slit and noticed Zhu Gaoxu's hesitation, so he continued to encourage: "Gao Xu, although we are the emperor, we are also your grandfather, not an outsider. Say whatever you think, Don’t worry too much.”

"Since Grandpa Huang lets his grandson speak freely, he dare not disobey. If what he said is wrong, please calm down Grandpa Huang."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking about taking the exam, Zhu Gaoxu decided to take this opportunity to express himself. After thinking for a while, he continued what he had just said.

"Innovating land taxes is the foundation for ensuring that all people pay equal taxes. All complex land taxes and various corvee services can be combined into a collection of silver or grain, making them simple and no longer collecting any other land taxes. It can even be abolished since the Qin and Han Dynasties. levy a capitation tax, or replace all kinds of corvee with employment.”

"At the same time, commercial taxes were improved. During the Song Dynasty, the imperial treasury was abundant. It was because of the prosperity of commerce that enough commercial taxes were included in the treasury. Although merchants were too profit-seeking and unjust, there were also loyal and filial people. If they could be managed, under the leadership of the imperial court, , it might be possible to find a commercial tax system that hides wealth among the people, makes the country strong and the people rich."

“The country is strong and the people are prosperous?”

Zhu Yuanzhang quietly opened his eyes and stared at Zhu Gaoxu. Although his face was expressionless, he was secretly surprised. He knew that this was a general statement, but these words were not something that ordinary people could say casually.

Zhu Gaoxu saw Zhu Yuanzhang's gloomy face and said quickly: "My grandson is finished, please give instructions to Grandpa Huang."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not comment, but said calmly: "Tell me about the meaning of the other five strategies you have understood."

Zhu Gaoxu was not sure what Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking, so he had to continue to explain his point of view.

"Sun'er feels that the policy of writing letters on the bus to the people not to be afraid of the officials is a good policy to use the people to supervise the officials in order to ensure the clear governance of the officials, as stipulated in the "Da Gao"..."

"The strategy of Huangzhuang salt and iron to replenish the national treasury needs to be combined with the tax payment of the four people..."

"The policy of compulsory military service, education, civil service and military affairs simultaneously refers to the policy of compulsory military service and compulsory education, as well as the separation of civil servants and military officers. The so-called compulsory military service..."

"..."

Looking at his good grandson talking eloquently in front of him, Zhu Yuanzhang felt as if he had found a treasure and was filled with joy. With his knowledge, he could naturally tell that what Zhu Gaoxu said was not nonsense, but a real good strategy for governing the country.

If Zhu Gaoxu lied and he did not understand these from the book, then the person behind him must have extremely high knowledge and vision that transcends the times. Otherwise, how could he come up with these six major strategies to run the country and help the world?

In addition, Zhu Gaoxu's performance at the moment was so amazing. He was eloquent and eloquent. Not only was his thinking clear, but he was also well-founded. He was simply a young talent who came out of the history books.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not believe that someone could train Zhu Gaoxu to be like this in just a few years in the imperial city full of informants. If this person really existed and was not known to him, then this person must be comparable to a god. The master!
Either Zhu Gaoxu is really blessed by God, otherwise how could he have been known as a child prodigy since he was a child?

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang personally handed a pen to Zhu Gaoxu. He was no longer struggling with the truth, but thinking about how to use these valuable things.

"Are you hungry?" Zhu Yuanzhang smiled kindly.

Zhu Gaoxu replied: "My grandson is not hungry."

He knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was an emperor who loved his children and grandchildren very much, and he was secretly relieved when he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang finally showed a kind smile like his grandfather in his previous life.

"My dear grandson, we remember that you like to eat sweet-scented osmanthus cake, right?" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a naive smile.

Zhu Gaoxu was slightly stunned, and felt quite emotional when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang showing his true temperament.If Zhu Yuanzhang had made harsher policies towards the royal descendants, would the Ming Dynasty be a different story?
Seeing Zhu Gaoxu in a daze, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said: "We have ordered people to prepare food, and it will be delivered later."

Zhu Yuanzhang became passionate, as if he wanted to give all his love to Zhu Gaoxu.

While Zhu Gaoxu was eating supper, Zhu Yuanzhang called a messenger over and told him: "Go and tell the prince that he will preside over the regular court tomorrow."

In this way, until the middle of the night, Zhu Gaoxu finally finished writing the meaning and prophecy of the six good strategies that he personally understood.

In order to pave the way for King Zhu Di of Yan to ascend to the throne, Zhu Gaoxu took great pains to compile two special prophecies.

One sentence is a prophecy about Zhu Biao's death from illness, that is, "Song Jun will return to heaven and regain his divine throne."

Another sentence is a prophecy full of hints, "Qin and Jin will succeed Yan Nanfei."

Zhu Gaoxu was not worried that the true meaning of this prophecy would be figured out in advance by Zhu Yuanzhang at this time.

Today, King Zhu Chen of Qin and King Zhu Fan of Jin are still alive.

From a literal meaning, "the succession of Qin and Jin" refers to the rise of something in the land of Qin and Jin, which is hard to associate with the deaths of King Qin and King Jin.

And Yan Nanfei is a folk saying, that is, swallows fly south.

The combination of these words is completely confusing.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not have a God's perspective and could not predict the fate of the two kings of Qin and Jin in the future.

"You can go to sleep!"

Zhu Yuanzhang is worthy of being the founding emperor who will go down in history. He is very energetic and unusually energetic. He stayed up half the night but was still full of energy.

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu had finished writing the six great strategies and prophecies, he ordered the latter to go to bed quickly so that he could regain his energy and answer his questions when he woke up.

Zhu Gaoxu was so startled and tormented by Zhu Yuanzhang that he wrote the manuscript in the middle of the night, which inevitably made him feel a little sleepy.

In order to show his uniqueness and win Zhu Yuanzhang's favor, Zhu Gaoxu cheered up and said sonorously: "If the emperor doesn't sleep, my grandson won't dare to sleep!"

"Okay, you are indeed our good grandson! In that case, you eat something first, and we will ask you later." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled happily.

Zhu Yuanzhang happily flipped through the manuscript in his hand, and came up with the idea of ​​​​listing it as a secret book that could only be read by future emperors.

Of course, his thought was just a fleeting thought. After all, this strategy of governing the country is not a child's play and needs to be verified.

In fact, deep in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, he hoped that this was true. In this case, it would mean that the old Zhu family was favored by God.

After Zhu Gaoxu filled his stomach, he started a new round of question and answer with Zhu Yuanzhang.

When Zhu Yuanzhang asked about the two prophecies "Song Jun returned to heaven and returned to the throne" and "Qin and Jin succeeded Yan Nanfei", Zhu Gaoxu first made a gesture of thinking hard, then shook his head with a disappointed expression, and finally He told Zhu Yuanzhang that he didn't understand it either.

As for the interpretation of other good policies that may conflict with Zhu Yuanzhang's inherent national policies, Zhu Gaoxu just avoided the important ones and chose the light ones. Except for some conflicts, most of them tried not to embarrass Zhu Yuanzhang. They were considered as checking for gaps in the existing national policies.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang has been in office for 25 years, and some established policies have been implemented for many years. If he overthrows them and reinvents them, he will be suspected of changing them day and night, which is naturally not conducive to the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Even if Zhu Gaoxu said to keep half of the government, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was extremely smart, knew that some good policies could only be implemented after the new king came to power. All he could do in the future was to improve the official system of the court and set equal emphasis on the separation of civil and military affairs based on good policies. A method that benefits the country and the people forever.

Both grandfather and grandson were very nice people, and they chatted from midnight to dawn. If a servant had not come to report that the prince wanted to see him, Zhu Yuanzhang would have continued chatting with Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the throne. After listening to the report from the attendant, he replied: "Let the prince come in."

Zhu Gaoxu was a man of two generations, so he naturally had a discerning eye. He quickly said: "My grandson is unbearably sleepy. Please allow Grandpa Huang to go back and rest."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly smiled and said: "Gao Xu, we know what you are thinking. We are not petty people. Just stay here and accompany us to meet the prince."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't know whether Zhu Yuanzhang was testing him or had other plans, and he didn't dare to refuse, so he had to agree obediently.

(End of this chapter)