Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 384 Send them all out

Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking about Wang Buli's suggestions and issued a guiding document.

As a feudal "patriarch", he really loves to do this kind of thing.

If the silver and copper mines had not been discovered yet, he would have been unable to resist organizing the Hongwu Ceremony and not leaving it to his son.

Similarly, after Zhu Biao received Wang Buli's letter, he was so shocked that he was speechless.

This kid is just as he thought. The policies he came up with are even cutting into his own flesh.

Once the policy of requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes and serve as officials is announced, I am afraid it will cause a huge disturbance.

Zhu Biao thought about it and ordered people to copy several copies of the letter and then send them to the cabinet and Duke Han Guo, asking him to consult on the matter as he was, after all, the Prince's Junior Tutor.

Although there is no prime minister, it would be great to have them give some advice.

It would be better if these things were proposed when the country was founded, so that future generations would not face too much resistance and be unable to do these things.

Zhu Biao thought carefully that this was not only about abolishing the tax-exempt privileges of the privileged class of officials and landlords, but most importantly, it was about continuing his father's role in strengthening the imperial power and exercising stricter control over the local areas to prevent them from being manipulated by officials.

It can even ease conflicts in the future social problems of the Ming Dynasty, so as to avoid the situation where rich people live in luxury while poor people freeze to death on the streets.

This blow is more brutal than the one my father used to cut off the rich and increase the number of the poor.

Wang Buli is like cutting meat with a blunt knife, fishing in a dry pond without any sustainable development.

Therefore, it is bound to be opposed by this privileged class because it harms their interests.

Especially in terms of the difficulty of implementation, we need to think carefully about how to accurately and effectively assess their property to prevent the policy from being misused by some people or abused for retaliation.

Zhu Biao did not think that Wang Buli had given him a difficult problem. Instead, he felt that it was becoming more and more challenging.

While my father is on an inspection tour, it's a good time to do something big and give him a surprise.

Of course, Zhu Biao had no intention of bypassing his father and getting things done directly. Instead, he planned to wait for his father to come back and come up with a detailed plan, which he would then release directly.

Duke Hanguo Li Shanchang received the letter sent by the crown prince. After opening it and reading on, he felt a little dazed.

Your Majesty can't help but take action against the meritorious collective?

Otherwise, how could such a thing happen!
Is His Majesty sending the Crown Prince to test everyone?

Li Shanchang put it aside, not knowing how to reply to the prince. After all, Hu Weiyong's case seemed right in front of him. His Majesty was carrying out drastic reforms, and anyone who did not go against his wishes would surely not have a good ending.

At this time, after Xu arrived in Beiping, he met with the King of Yan and told him about his preparations for a northern expedition against the Mongols.

Zhu Di naturally expressed his cooperation and even provided a short map of the Mongolian route, which was probably drawn along the banks of the Luqu River to prevent the army from lacking water.

Xu Da took it with great surprise. He really didn't expect that after Zhu Di came to Peking, he would send spies to the Mongolian forces and even drew a short map.

Although Li Jinglong was smuggling abroad, he did not obtain large quantities of maps related to the Mongols. Most of them came to trade on their own initiative and were very cautious.

"it is good."

Xu Da took the small piece of map and said that even if they were Mongols, they had to live near the river.

Otherwise, whether it is humans or cattle and horses, how can they survive without plenty of drinking water?
"Take care, father-in-law."

Xu Da looked at his daughter holding the child again, nodded, and without staying any longer, he rushed directly to the front line.

This time we must act quickly and reunite with Mu Ying who is still fishing, and try to strike a heavy blow to the Mongolian forces to prevent them from causing trouble at the border again.

The policies formulated by Zhu Biao were spread in a small circle, and people did not think that they were the work of the honest prince.

It was probably the emperor who was giving remote commands from behind.

As a result, many officials would feel resistance to this.

However, this matter was not completely filmed, and the prince always insisted that it should be kept secret, so no censor dared to make any suggestions.

Otherwise, that would be courting death.

The prince is kind.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t kill people!

Do you guys dare to take the words of our crown prince to heart? Are you children who disrespect your master?

That would be a big taboo.

It seemed as if a new storm was brewing in the court.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was still writing guiding documents for monks.

Wang Buli would cast his rod from time to time, feed the cat if he caught any fish, and go back if he didn't catch any.

Anyway, I will just treat it as a business trip and learn about the customs of different parts of the Ming Dynasty.

The people's lives are not difficult, but they are not easy either.

In general, people are just barely starving to death. Once a natural disaster occurs, the small peasant economy will be too fragile.

"Buli, I suddenly feel that if the temples and Taoist temples withdraw from the business, there will definitely be others who will do it. In this way, won't it be a bargain for others?"

Zhu Yuanzhang put down his pen, sat down and watched Wang Buli fishing there.

This kid's fishing skills are not very good, and the wild cat next to him is getting impatient.

"Why not just find some imperial merchants to replace them?" Wang Buli looked at the fish floats on the water:

"Private merchants come in and rotate every few years. They are supervised by the royal family, and the government checks the taxes. The three parties supervise each other to prevent usury from happening among the people. In the end, the monks in the temples will get fat and have many slave soldiers, which is of no benefit to the court."

Royal merchant?

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "Are you talking about the role of the Shaofu in the Han Dynasty?"

What Wang Buli actually wanted to talk about was the state-owned enterprises, as for the Shaofu, he didn't know much about it.

"almost."

Hearing Wang Buli's response, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, that's the truth.

The Shaofu was equivalent to the emperor's private official, in charge of the emperor and the royal family's private income and expenditure.

This imperial merchant that Wang Buli mentioned could be worth a try.

Whoever dares to raise his hand will have his head chopped off.

Because of the increase in commercial taxes in recent years and the huge profits Li Jinglong made from smuggling at the border, Zhu Yuanzhang also gained a certain understanding of business.

After peace came to the world, many people needed to spend money to support their families, so merchants were indispensable.

As for some small vendors, Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to collect taxes from them, mostly just some stall fees.

He focused his attention on middle-level and above vendors.

What Wang Buli meant now was to proactively bring some respectable businessmen into a regulatory system so that they could serve the emperor.

So as to avoid currying favor with some ministers.

This can also be considered a way to prevent businessmen from bribing ministers.

After they are fattened up, the imperial court can slaughter them once they find their mistakes.

The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more he felt that this was the right thing to do.

Now that Wang Buli has proposed this idea, he has to think about it carefully.

Then, seeing that Wang Buli's fish were not taking the bait, Zhu Yuanzhang began to tell him some ideas about the temple.

"Buddhism was introduced into China from the Han Dynasty. ... Its fundamental tradition is based on suffering, emptiness and loneliness.

Nowadays, many monks in the world are mixed with laymen, and there are many who are not as good as laymen. They have converted to the religion but corrupted their conduct. They should clarify their affairs and establish their sect.

As soon as the order was issued, the Zen practitioners practiced Zen, the lecturers practiced lectures, and the yogis practiced yoga, each following their own sect, and they gathered together to form a temple.

Those who have wives and wish to return to secular life will be listened to; those who wish to abandon them will be listened to.

......"

"What do you think of what we wrote?"

Wang Buli removed those words and carefully discerned the meaning of Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

What he wanted was to order all the temples in the world to cut off from the secular society and return to "suffering, emptiness and loneliness".

In specific terms, all monks are not allowed to live among the people.

If anyone dared not to enter the large temples controlled by the court and lived among the common people, he would be reported to the authorities or arrested by the government and be beheaded as a display to the public.

Anyone who harbors or harbours a criminal shall be exiled three thousand miles.

The only exception is those who are willing to stay away from the world and live out the rest of their lives in the deep mountains and forests, farming with slash-and-burn farming. Old Zhu allows them not to enter the temples controlled by the court (small temples in the deep mountains) and not to leave the mountains.

When there is no inheritance, these small temples will naturally decline and become deserted, and there will be no need to manage them.

In order to reduce the cost of court control, temples with less than 30 people were not allowed to exist, and if there were not enough monks, they had to merge with other temples.

The specific work was handed over to the local government and the Jinyiwei for implementation, and it was limited to be completed within 100 days. Wang Buli still looked at his fishing float and fanned himself with a cattail leaf fan: "Father-in-law, I really didn't expect that you could write so elegantly."

Speaking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang was still quite proud of himself.

He never stopped learning and could even debate Confucian classics with some scholars.

"But if this is passed down, I'm afraid many people won't understand it, and not all monks can read."

"hiss."

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and nodded slightly. This is the truth.

He always felt that since he was an emperor, he had to be more careful when writing, and he would definitely set an example for future generations.

But Wang Buli reminded me that this is indeed the truth.

When he was the King of Wu, most of the proclamations he wrote were in plain language.

However, after he became emperor, most of his proclamations were polished by the Ministry of Rites. Only when he replied to memorials himself would he use plain language when he was excited.

If the people cannot understand the notice, won’t many people take the opportunity to interpret it randomly?

"You're right. We need to make some changes and put it out there for everyone in the world to know."

"In addition to strictly issuing certificates of ordination, new decrees should also be issued for monks and monasteries."

Wang Buli gave Zhu Yuanzhang some more suggestions.

He felt that deserters who could not endure the serf-like exploitation and prisoners who could not endure the slave-like labor would most likely use the temple as a hiding place when they were desperate.

There were many Buddhist temples hiding deserters and fugitives, so all temples were required to be numbered and registered.

There are those who conceal treacherous people and are vaguely included in the list. When the incident happens, even the monk will not spare his life.

Monks from all places must clearly report their secular household registration at the place where they originally became a monk and are not allowed to register as a citizen in the place where they stay.

This way, people don't have many places to escape to.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly. He almost forgot about the time when he was hiding in the temple.

Wang Buli, the son-in-law, has really not forgotten his situation before he became rich.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang would brag every year about how he had climbed to the top through great hardships, many details were not mentioned to avoid becoming like Xu You.

But Wang Buli sometimes used this kind of thing to advise Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Yuanzhang didn't get upset at all.

Because he felt that by doing so, he could avoid the possibility of there being people like him who started out in the same way.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care much about it. It was rare for someone like him who started from such a low point to conquer the whole world.

Then Li Zicheng was at least a postman.

"There are also fertile fields occupied by temples and Taoist temples. They can't be cultivated now that there are fewer people. Instead of leaving them barren, it's better to use them to do some good things that benefit the local people."

Wang Buli counted on his fingers and said, "Many people will pay taxes. The grain produced by these fields will be used to subsidize the people a little bit after one or two months of collecting taxes."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and said, "Why do we have to collect first and then send? It would be better to deduct directly, so as to reduce losses and avoid someone cheating in the accounts."

"That's right." Wang Buli nodded: "Your Majesty is thoughtful. I am unrealistic."

"But your suggestion is a good one, and it can be considered as confiscation."

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled. Even though he had issued an order long ago prohibiting the use of land as incense money, many temples still had a lot of fertile land left, so this matter had to be thoroughly investigated.

Whoever dares to deceive us at that time will surely not be able to escape the big knife in our hands.

Zhu Biao was busy with many things.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not idle either. After he made the changes, he directly sent the Jinyiwei to hand over the policies concerning temples and Taoist temples to Zhu Biao.

Let him issue it immediately and let him listen carefully to the discussions among the people on this matter.

What you hear with your own ears is always more real and believable than what others repeat.

With the issuance of this guiding document, it indeed caused a huge uproar among the people.

There are rumors that when Your Majesty was staying at Huangjue Temple, he was often bullied by those big monks.

Now the revenge on the Buddhist disciples has finally begun. Many people, besides watching the fun, are loudly praising Your Majesty's actions.

In times of chaos, not only are many people able to turn their lives around, but temples also have plenty of ways to make money.

Even if the output from those fertile fields does not benefit much the people of the county, they can still save some surplus grain at home.

I don't have much expectation for the rich, but how can I not be happy for the many poor people?
Now it doesn’t matter even if those monks and Taoists are dissatisfied. Zhu Yuanzhang is just waiting for the monks and Taoists in some place to cause trouble, and he will take the opportunity to kill a group of them to intimidate them, and even destroy their temples.

The plan to reduce the number of temples and monks within 100 days is being urgently implemented.

The Jinyiwei were sent abroad and had already demonstrated a certain "reputation" in the Hu Weiyong case, so not many monks dared to gather together to rebel.

This is the policy issued by the emperor.

Who dares to make trouble?

"Hahaha."

Zhu Yuanzhang was very pleased with the people's discussions, even though he only heard them in a few places.

But overall, it's still excellent.

Especially in the south, there are many offerings for worshiping Buddha, so the number of monks has been reduced all of a sudden, which is also to further educate the people not to worship Buddha for no reason. Do you have the money to do that?
It is better to work harder. Empty talk will ruin the country, while hard work will make it prosperous!
Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied with Wang Buli's occasional words, and he often wrote them down in the memorials he reviewed.

In this way, many words became the "golden sentences" of Emperor Hongwu.

Your King Bulili has married my own daughter. What does it matter if I use a few meaningless words of yours to motivate my officials?
All in all, it's you who are taking advantage!
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't feel the need to blush at all, since Wang Buli didn't have any contact with those court officials anyway.

The Ming Dynasty has been taking actions against temples recently, and they have finally come to an end.

Many monks were forced to return to secular life and become members of the four classes of people.

As for the means of making a living, Zhu Yuanzhang did not give them time to think about it. However, some desperate monks announced that they would burn their bodies as relics to spread Buddhism.

Upon hearing this news, Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer sit still. He looked at Wang Buli standing beside him:
"I have somewhat forgotten what those monks do to make a living after they return to secular life."

Wang Buli thought for a while and said: "Why not move them to the north to farm, or ask if there is anyone who can go to the Mongols to persuade those ignorant Mongols to put down their butcher knives? I heard that the monks of U-Tsang are very popular with the Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. It is better to let them fight."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought Wang Buli's suggestion was good: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I never thought of that!" Wang Buli sat in the carriage:
"I'm not Zhuge Liang, who can predict everything. Besides, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang can't predict everything either!"

Zhu Yuanzhang passed by and asked an official nearby to write a letter and send it back to Nanjing, giving it to the prince, asking him to handle matters related to the debate.

If it is done well, it can also allow the monks to make use of their remaining energy.

"We think we should not only send troops to Mongolia, but also to Japan and other places. It would be best if we could also send people to U-Tsang." Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts suddenly diverged.

Overall, the monks from the Ming Dynasty debated well, and he participated in the debate when the Japanese monks came to the Ming Dynasty.

It would be better to let the monks of the Ming Dynasty go to Japan and other places to eat free rice.

It will not bring harm to the Ming Dynasty, and if it spreads some propaganda in Japan, when the Ming army goes there, perhaps a lot of trouble will be avoided.

In this way, it can be regarded as spreading the great Buddhist teachings of the Ming Dynasty, and we have won several times!
Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands and immediately felt that his idea was brilliant.

Wang Buli listened to Zhu Yuanzhang's endless instructions and felt that Zhu's thoughts tended to diverge.

Their political stance is very high. It is not limited to one place. Once they move, they want to move the whole world and even affect the surrounding small countries.

"What do you think of this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang simply expanded on Wang Buli's suggestion slightly, took it as his own idea, and asked in return.

"My father-in-law's ideas are far-sighted and far beyond my reach."

"Hahaha." Zhu Yuanzhang laughed several times. He felt that he had become more and more advanced in the art of ruling an emperor. "By the way, what do you think about that group of monks who are promoting the burning of the relics?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had heard of this kind of thing a long time ago. The relics were made from the merits of spiritual practice, and were mostly in the shape of hard beads with dazzling colors.

"It's just a joke."

Wang Buli snorted and laughed, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan: "I can burn as many Buddha bones as you want, even the color you like."

"Limestone-like?"

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally would not doubt Wang Buli's methods.

He believed that Wang Buli was learning some real skills in the fairyland.

"That's right. I can also wholesale lightning-struck wood for you, and completely destroy the Taoists' monopoly on the market."

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked, for he remembered that Wang Buli was nearly killed by lightning.

(End of this chapter)