I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 159 The Collapse of the Fourth Master
There was a deafening silence.

Ying Zheng slowly stood up and asked in an extremely sincere tone:
"Sir, the taxes of the Qin Dynasty are mostly paid in the form of grain and half a tael of money. Of course, there are also gold and silver, but not that much."

"After listening to your lectures these days, I also know that as time goes on, the people's productivity and the court's ability will increase. The Qing Dynasty is more than a thousand years away from the Qin Dynasty, and the territory is larger, so they can circulate silver as currency so luxuriously."

"It's just that I really can't understand--"

"Even if it's copper coins, a pile of more than 100 million coins would be as high as a mountain, not to mention that so much silver is spent on military expenses. Can the national treasury be supported by so much income just by the so-called overseas trade?"

"Also, even if the income and expenditure can be offset by trade, the management costs caused by the expansion of the territory will also increase. For example, as you just said, the water conservancy I am doing now is probably digging ditches. The water conservancy in more than a thousand years will definitely be more powerful, and the cost will be even greater."

"Natural disasters and man-made disasters are inevitable. Li Shimin encountered many floods, droughts, earthworms, and even insect and snow disasters during his time. He had to deal with them and provide disaster relief, otherwise it would lead to civil unrest. Qianlong invested so much money in military expenses. Assuming that the court's taxes were enough to cover these sudden natural and man-made disasters, was he a frugal emperor who didn't spend money on himself?"

Song Shen understood, and so did the others. All the students realized that the problem Ying Zheng was talking about was the key point that they had overlooked after being shocked just now.

Since Qianlong was willing to spend so much on military expenses, he would definitely not be too frugal. This has always been the case since ancient times.

If Emperor Qianlong was a very frugal guy, he would not have been so warlike.

To the emperor, this word was not an insult to him.

It takes capital to engage in militarism.

For example, what does "Ying Zheng, the legacy of six generations" mean? It means that the six Qin kings before him governed the Qin State properly and left him a rich legacy, including Shang Yang's reforms to rectify the customs of the people, the powerful Qin cavalry, and the military merit system born for war. With all these accumulated over decades and hundreds of years, plus Ying Zheng, a genius iron-fisted king, the Qin King was able to achieve the feat of sweeping across the world and unifying the country.

Another example is Liu Che, the most famous expert in military expansion in history. Compared with his investment, Qianlong can only lag behind him. Like Ying Zheng, he has been criticized for a thousand years. It is true that he had the family fortune accumulated by the reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing before him, so he could squander his wealth. But what if he was replaced by Zhu Qizhen? Only a capable top-level rich second-generation could use the money he saved for the right purpose.

It’s okay to spend money, but the problem is that you also have to know how to make money, and after making money you have to get a fair return on the cost you invested.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han were criticized by Confucianists for a thousand or two thousand years. Did this prevent them from making great achievements and leaving their names in history? No.

Back to the previous question, the reason why Ying Zheng asked such a question is because as the creator of the term "emperor", he can be said to be the person who understands the emperor's mind best, no doubt about it.

An emperor who is determined to spend an astronomical amount of money on a war must have plenty of silver. In order to demonstrate his deterrence, the emperor will use various means to expand his deterrence among the people, the court, and foreign countries. Only by combining force and reputation can he scare the restless people.

Ying Zheng himself did a lot of similar things.

He built the Great Wall, the Great Highway, the imperial mausoleum, the Afang Palace, expanded the Xianyang Palace, collected weapons from all over the world and cast bronze men. He traveled around the world despite knowing the dangers... In addition to mobilizing the idle manpower of the Qin Dynasty and resisting the Huns, and for various other reasons, the greater purpose of these things was to deter and shock.

The best way is to use an unquestionable iron fist to intimidate the remnants of the six kingdoms, demonstrate national strength, and create wonders.

Putting himself in other people's shoes, Ying Zheng didn't believe that an emperor like Qianlong, who was determined to compete for the top spot, would not do something similar.

Then comes the bigger question -

This guy has already spent 150 million taels of silver on military expenses, where the hell is he going to get more money? !
This is the unfinished meaning of Ying Zheng’s words.

Money, money, money! The most important thing is money!
Song Shen thought for a moment and said:
"He was certainly not a frugal emperor. In other words, his extravagance was greater than that of all his ancestors combined."

"Qianlong spent a lot of money on construction projects and lived a luxurious life. He expanded the Old Summer Palace and went to the south of the Yangtze River six times. These two projects alone cost 45 million taels of silver. If we add the Chengde Mountain Resort and the Buddhist temples in Beijing, the total cost would be 50 or 60 million taels."

"Except for Yinzhen, you may not quite understand the significance of going to the south of the Yangtze River, but you can put it in perspective. It's similar to the First Emperor's eastern tour. Apart from the fact that he wanted to go out for a walk, the more important purpose was to make money, win people's hearts, shock the world, and show off his financial strength."

"During his six trips to the south of the Yangtze River, he also provided disaster relief and flood control, and spent another 250 million taels of silver."

"In addition, the tax exemption was extended to all provinces five times, and the tax exemption to eight provinces was extended three times, which saved nearly 250 million taels of silver in taxes."

"In terms of squandering, Qianlong was indeed the Qing emperor who was the most profligate spender, bar none—oh, the cession of territory and payment of indemnities in the late Qing Dynasty does not count."

At this point, regardless of other people’s expressions, Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes turned as green as a wolf’s.

Silver...so much silver...

Who doesn’t want to be an emperor?

If he had money in his hands and the treasury was full, who wouldn't donate generously to fight the war, and who wouldn't want to live a comfortable and enjoyable life?

Human nature.

But among all the people present, which emperor has so many in his hands?

During the Qin, Tang and Ming dynasties, the people of the country had just finished fighting and needed to recuperate. There were foreign tribes on the border that needed to be prepared to defend against them. There were also frequent disasters in many places that needed to be dealt with. Every penny was wasted. The Huns of the Qin Dynasty, the Turks of the early Tang Dynasty, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty of the early Ming Dynasty were all difficult to deal with.

Emperor Wu of Han was a rich second-generation, his ancestors had saved a lot of money, but he didn't dare to live a luxurious life like Emperor Qianlong, right? If he dared to do this while "wastefully" fighting a war, the Han Dynasty would not be far from being destroyed.

Yinzhen couldn't stand it anymore.

He stood up in disbelief, stared at Song Shen and asked:
"No... that's unlikely, right?"

"As a father, I have never left the capital since I ascended the throne. I have always stayed in the Forbidden City. In the future, I will not go to the south of the Yangtze River like my father did in the past. It is too expensive. With me setting an example, how could Hongli be so extravagant? Where did he learn this? This, this is not right!"

"Besides, he is now living in the palace. I plan to let him get married next year or the year after and then talk about moving out of the palace. Before that, he has been under my nose. I think he is an honest and upright person with a smart mind. He is a man who can handle things clearly and is diligent. When he was a child, the emperor also loved him very much... How could he become what you said?"

Song Shen gave an ambiguous smile.

"You also said that Kangxi likes him."

"Compared to you, he is more like Kangxi."

Yinzhen was stunned and tried to take a step back, but found himself standing on his seat and almost tripped over it.

But no one cared how shocked he was by his son's true nature.

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped pretending and asked directly:
"Sir, let me tell you, what everyone cares about is not what kind of person Qianlong is, but where did he get the money from!" "He spent more than 100 million on military expenditures, tens of millions on large-scale construction projects, more than 200 million on disaster relief and flood control, and he also exempted more than 200 million in taxes... Even if he had a mountain of gold and silver sitting on his butt, it wouldn't be able to withstand what he did, right?"

"If you want to say that it was the silver that Yongzheng left for him, I don't believe it at all. Although I don't know whether Yongzheng would save money or how much he saved, but when the father dies, if the son only knows how to spend but not how to earn, no matter how big the family business is, it can't withstand such a ruin!"

Song Shen laughed and asked:

"Your question is very inaccurate, Mr. Zhu Yuanzhang."

"The Ministry of Revenue manages the national treasury, and the emperor manages his own private treasury. Qianlong's military expenses and disaster relief are borne by the court, but these are the only two. For the rest, whether he wants to build large-scale projects or go to the south of the Yangtze River, or live a luxurious life and never tire of eating fine food, he pays for it himself."

"Are you specifically asking about the national treasury or his private treasury?"

Everyone was stunned.

WTF?

With so much silver, is there a big difference between the national treasury and the private treasury? Military expenses and taxes can be paid with the huge overseas trade volume. Did Emperor Qianlong use the silver in his own pocket to build wonders in the south of the Yangtze River?

That's too much. Which emperor could hold so much in his hands?
At this time, Yinzhen's reaction suddenly became a little exaggerated, and he asked hurriedly:
"Sir, the private treasury you are talking about, is it the income of the Ministry of Internal Affairs? At that time, could the Ministry of Internal Affairs collect so much silver?!"

Song Shen snapped his fingers:
"Yes!"

"Since you asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs first, let me explain to you former classmates why Emperor Qianlong had so much private money."

"The Imperial Household Department was a department that only existed during the Qing Dynasty. It was specifically designed to make money for the royal family. All the expenses for the emperor, the harem, and other people's food, clothing, housing, and transportation were borne by them. They had both income and expenditure, and they had many ways to make money. Otherwise, they would not have been able to support the huge expenses of Emperor Qianlong."

"First of all, everyone should be familiar with the first item of income, that is tribute."

"Among the students here, the one who is most familiar with this operation should be Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che. He stipulated at that time that for the princes, whenever they came to see the emperor, they had to offer a blue jade disk, and all blue jade disks had to be lined with white deer skin. The so-called white deer skin was only sold in the royal Shanglin Garden, and it cost 40 coins per disk."

"During the Qianlong period, this operation had become even more outrageous. Nobles, royal families, court officials, and Mongolia all became targets of tribute. When the emperor offered sacrifices to heaven, there would be offerings to heaven. There would be offerings on the Dragon Boat Festival. When Qianlong went on tour, local officials would also pay tribute wherever he passed. These tributes were a test of whether a person was virtuous or not. The most virtuous person was Heshen, who we will mention later."

“Second, it’s the land.”

"I should have mentioned before that although the royal family members of the Qing Dynasty were granted titles, they did not have fiefs. This had a lot to do with the fact that the feudal system of the Ming Dynasty made it difficult for the court to collect taxes. The Qing Dynasty realized this, so after the emperor stopped granting land, he became the largest landlord and had a huge number of so-called 'imperial estates'."

"On the imperial farm, the royal family can send people to plant and raise livestock, and the products produced are rich, such as beef, mutton, eggs, some medicinal materials, cooking oil, flowers and trees for people to appreciate, etc., which can basically be self-sufficient. In addition, the products of the imperial farm can also make a profit, and the silver money paid to the Ministry of Internal Affairs every year is hundreds of thousands of taels of income."

"Everyone understands these two points, right?"

The people below looked thoughtful but not too shocked. They nodded one after another to show that they understood.

This is all understandable, but due to the particularity of the Qing Dynasty system, if the emperor was more ruthless, his income would be a lot higher, which is also reasonable.

Song Shen nodded and continued:

"The third point is more interesting, it's salt."

"Salt permits have actually existed for a long time. The previous ones were relatively common. Although this was a major profit item for the court, in the early Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period, the biggest role of salt permits was not only to make money, but more importantly to attract salt dealers to the border, encourage merchants to transport grain to the border in exchange for salt permits, and grant salt trading patents, also known as the system of opening the salt trade. The system of opening the salt trade was inherited from the Song and Yuan systems, but in the Ming Dynasty, it was more common in border areas to attract merchants to transport grain to the border and enrich the border military grain reserves."

"Of course there were many reforms during the Ming Dynasty, but the original purpose was to do practical things and strive to generate income while benefiting the people. But in the Qing Dynasty, salt permits were completely used as a means to make money, and there was no shame at all."

"At that time, there were countless salt merchants across the country, and the Ministry of Revenue printed a large number of salt permits to replenish the national treasury. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, salt permits were so rampant that the salt permit system was once in danger of being abolished."

"At the beginning of Yongzheng's reign, Kangxi left behind a mess. The treasury was empty, natural disasters were constant, and corrupt officials were everywhere. No matter how much money the court collected, it was divided up by the local governments. In order to raise money for disaster relief, Yongzheng ordered the confiscation of many corrupt officials' wealth, and also strictly prohibited the Ministry of Revenue from over-issuing salt permits. He carried out a number of major reforms, and only then did he save the so-called Kangxi and Qianlong prosperous eras."

"But it's a pity, Mr. Yinzhen, that the clean and honest government you worked so hard for has gone awry when it comes to your son. He has learned more from Kangxi than from you."

"When Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River for the sixth time, he met with the eight major salt merchants of the time. In Yangzhou alone, the capital of the Huizhou salt merchants was equal to more than half of the silver in the national treasury. When he went to the south of the Yangtze River, the salt merchants spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to build a palace for him in order to please him. He sharpened his knife and put his neck on the line to donate silver."

"So in fact, although Qianlong spent a lot of money when he went to the south of the Yangtze River, it was not money from his pocket."

"A few years later, the Lianghuai Salt Permit Case broke out. The new salt administrator checked the accounts and found that in the previous 20 years, salt officials had privately over-issued salt permits and deducted and withheld more than 10 million taels of silver. It was unclear how many families were raided and how many people were implicated."

"Guess how much money went into Qianlong's pocket?"

"This guy usually doesn't confiscate the property of corrupt officials. The corrupt officials who have embezzled money will voluntarily give him money and share the profits with him. He won't investigate thoroughly unless the matter becomes serious. Isn't it better to keep corrupt officials and wait for money to come in than to confiscate their property and kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened.

He didn't know how many times his eyes had been staring at him today, and his eyelids felt sore.

After a moment of shock, Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and looked at Yinzhen, who was standing not far from him, with sympathy on his face, and even his braid seemed to please his eyes.

After all, if he had such a son who was very difficult to judge, he would want to go back and kill him directly.

Compared with Qianlong, Zhu Di was much better.

Although he rebelled, the fourth brother still did a lot of good things. He was good at fighting and had a good son who governed the country for him. He had good achievements and did not cause any corruption problems worthy of Song Shen's mention.

And Yongzheng, an emperor who was determined to rectify the officialdom, raised a good son who directly shared the accounts with corrupt officials...

"My condolences... Oh no, don't be too angry, at least he will make money."

Zhu Yuanzhang consoled him dryly.

Yinzhen:……

The fourth uncle bit his teeth until they were about to break, and squeezed out a cruel word from between his teeth:
"He's really good at making money, too good at making money... If I can go back, if he doesn't tell the truth, I will beat him to death!"

(End of this chapter)