golden scales

Later generations said that the emperor of Ming Dynasty was so wonderful. If you look at it from Zhu Cihong's point of view, this "wonderful work" is actually the "little people" character that emerged from the emperors of the past dynasties.This kind of common people's character is more clearly manifested in the two emperors Tianqi and Chongzhen.

On the one hand, Emperor Chongzhen could not sleep peacefully because of the pressure of the suzerain vassal, but on the other hand, he did not have the courage to risk the disgrace of the world.If he had any good feelings for Zong Fan, at least Zhu Cihong couldn't tell.If he were on the throne, as early as the third year of Chongzhen, he would have nationalized the wealth of the vassal kings in the name of suppressing bandits and helping them pay.

"Father, in the 28th year of Hongwu, the imperial court could no longer pay the high amount of vassal Lumi."

Back in Zhouhou's dormitory, Chongzhen sat by the bed and looked at his wife who was getting thinner and thinner, while listening to Zhu Cihong's discussion of reducing the vassal Lumi.

Zhu Cihong knew that his father liked to listen to people quoting scriptures, but it was actually because of a lack of self-confidence in his heart.Sitting in front of Chongzhen and Empress Zhou, he said slowly: "Therefore, Emperor Gao ordered to reduce the annual allowances of the kings for the military and the country. From the 28th year of Hongwu, the princes gave ten thousand stones every year, and the county kings two thousand stones. General Zhen Guo Qianshi, Fu Guo General, Feng Guo General, and Zhen Guo Lieutenant will be reduced by [-] stones, Fu Guo Lieutenant and Feng Guo Lieutenant will be reduced by [-] stones. Princess and consort [-] stones, princess and Yibin [-] stones, The county head, county lord, and Yibin will be reduced by two hundred stones, and the county, township, and Yibin will be reduced by one hundred stones."

After Zhou Hou heard his son's words were consistent, and he knew the ancestral system, he couldn't help feeling proud, straightened his body, and listened more attentively.

"This restructuring seems to have reduced the vassal's salary, but actually increased the annual salary of the clan's descendants. According to the regulations in the ninth year of Hongwu, the annual salary of the son of the county king-the general of the town is [-] years old. Hectares, as the eternal career of the world. Regardless of the number of descendants of the generals of the town, all expenses are paid from the [-] hectares given to the field. After the reform, the generals of the Fuguo and the lieutenants of the Fengguo can each receive [-] to [-] shi every year. In this way, the total amount of Lumi far exceeds that of the sixty hectares of land granted."

"Take the Prince Lu Mansion in Shandong as an example." Zhu Cihong took a sip of the tea brought by Kunxing. Counties and other lords, emperors, and Yibins are up to 360. The yearly income is more than 13 seven stones."

Chongzhen's face turned blue when he heard such a large number.But Zhu Cihong continued: "By the 24th year of Wanli, the number had reached more than 19, including 15 county kings. As for King De and King Heng, there were 11 county kings in Defan and 45 county kings in Hengfan. , a total of [-] county kings, generals, lieutenants and so on. Where does the country get so much Lumi to support them?"

"So the patriarch's annual salary has been in arrears for a long time." Chongzhen said with a long sigh: "The ancestor's order was originally for the friendship of relatives, but now it seems that it has put a shackle on the imperial family."

"Father, it's more than that." Zhu Cihong said: "The feudal lords also have Zhuangtian. Just looking at the number of rewards from previous dynasties, the Dewang Mansion has at least [-] hectares, and the Hengwang Mansion has more than [-] hectares. Besides Zhuangtian, there are There are rouge fields, chicken and goose food fields, and goose and duck factories. It sounds like tidal flats where no food can be grown. In fact, they deceived the upper and lower, and those are also good and fertile lands, at least three thousand hectares! The state does not get a cent of the tax paid, so it is equivalent to giving it to them?"

"This is only the property of the vassal king, and it is impossible to enumerate it below the county king." Zhu Cihong said: "There are also miscellaneous taxes, grain silver, and unscrupulous people who donate to their sects to avoid taxes... Some people say, 'Take one example. The province's financial resources are difficult to support the province's feudal lords', in my opinion, it is not alarmist, at least Shandong's financial resources cannot afford the three feudal vassals of De, Heng and Lu."

"Can your method of distributing dividends really solve the consumption of the suzerain and vassal?" Chongzhen asked.

"Father," Zhu Cihong said with a smile, "the annual income from the operation of the Huangdian is a fixed number. If there is more profit, the more dividends will be given. If there is less, there will be less dividends. If there is no profit, there will be no dividends. If the capital is lost, it will be borne by the investors according to their share. It has nothing to do with the state's finances. It has nothing to do with the amount of shares that the vassal king is willing to give to his descendants, it's just a matter of course."

"There are always poor vassals who want to make trouble." Chongzhen frowned.

"Take a portion of this income and use it as relief funds, pensions, and religious expenses for the poor." Zhu Cihong said: "As long as you are willing to study, the expenses for studying in the clan will also be allocated here."

"I'm afraid they won't." Chongzhen said.

"Father, even the villagers in the countryside, there are also big houses and small branches in a clan. The big house also has to bear a lot of expenses, for the sake of relatives. My imperial family is certainly a big house, so are the feudal clans small? Nothing else Said, the Qin and Jin feudal vassals were seen with my own eyes, which one did not have more money than the internal money? Those poor feudal vassals wanted to come to my house to make trouble because the feudal vassals were scattered. In the opinion of the vassals, in the future, all the feudal vassals will drive Listen, if there are poor feudal clans who want to make trouble, let them fight it." Zhu Cihong said with a smile.

Zhou Hou sat up and praised: "This matter has been a headache since the temple master, but let me solve it lightly."

This is a family matter, and Chongzhen couldn't stop the Queen from expressing her opinion, so he just said with a sullen face: "It may not be so simple."

Zhu Cihong laughed it off, the problem for the suzerain was not what kind of strategy to formulate, but how to proceed.Now several ports in Shandong are under the control of Donggong, and the land route is cut off on three sides by Luo Yukun, Liu Fangliang, and Gao Jie.Only Donggong nodded when the goods came in and out, otherwise he could only buy Gao Jie at a high price.It would be best if the feudal vassals in Shandong knew each other, but if they didn't...

"I got the news when I was changing clothes before," Zhu Cihong said softly, "The Shun thief Liu Fangliang broke through the Jinan mansion, and the Dewang mansion may be robbed."

"King Nade..."

"Fortunately King De is in Laizhou." Zhu Cihong said.

"Did King De's 20 taels also fall into the hands of thieves?" After listening to his son's analysis, Zhu Youjian faintly resented the huge wealth of the vassal king.Thinking about the king of his own country, he couldn't get together 50 million taels of military expenses, and a vassal king can casually spend 20 taels, which is really enviable.

"It doesn't matter." Zhu Cihong said quite confidently: "Who would keep valuables in one place? De Mansion and Lu Mansion were both disaster-stricken by war, so they must have hidden a lot of emergency money in farmlands and villages outside. The fall of this mansion will at best only cause him heartache for a while."

In the original historical script, until the third year of Shunzhi, some people still exposed the hidden assets of Prince Heng's Mansion, so Zhu Cihong was not worried that San Francisco would really be poor.Even the king of Lu who fled south would not take all his assets away, and most of them would bury them in some places, and take them out to enjoy after he came back.

"Father, the army of Shun thieves has broken through Jinan, and the Qingzhou Mansion is probably in danger. My ministers still have to rush to the Lexia defense line overnight to supervise the battle. Please rest assured, Father, Queen and Queen." Zhu Cihong got up and said.

"My son has to be careful, don't take risks." Zhou Hou persuaded.

Chongzhen just nodded, still not at ease about his son's military ability.It's just that the guards of the East Palace have become the last line of defense at the moment. If there is no support from the eldest son, it will only depend on the local bravery.

Aunt Zhu sent her elder brother outside the door, and said softly, "Brother Huang, come back earlier."

Zhu Cihong nodded, took two steps and then stopped and said, "I'll tell Liu Ruoyu when I turn around, you can go to the orphan camp whenever you want to take care of things. As long as it conforms to the regulations I set, you can do whatever you want."

"Thank you, Brother Huang!" Auntie Zhu said happily.

Zhu Cihong left the inner house, and the eunuchs who followed were quickly replaced by the personal guards.Because Min Zhanlian wanted to stay in the Zhaoyuan training preparatory camp, he sent his adopted son Min Ziruo to accompany the crown prince.Zhu Cihong has never fixed an adjutant, but just seeing that this "master" who was born as a prison guard is young and mature, and he is not a slippery type, so he is appointed as the military command department, so that he can convey military orders.

"Report~!"

As soon as Zhu Cihong walked out of the main gate of the government office, he saw a horse galloping towards him.A soldier carrying the Master Chief's emblem on his shoulders got off his horse, landed on one knee, and reported: "Your Highness, the thief Liu Fangliang is marching towards Qingzhou!"

Zhu Cihong nodded. He had already received the action plan sent by Luo Yukun, and he knew Luo Ying's action route and combat objectives very well, so he personally revised it.Right now, these battle reports on the surface are just a deception.

"Pass the report in." Zhu Cihong instructed the sergeant chief, got on his horse, and galloped away with his personal guards. (To be continued.)