Win the Ding 1617

The eunuch who delivered the decree came out of Dongnuan Pavilion joyfully, and went out of the palace to Li Shouhan's mansion in the capital.

Looking at the almost cheering figure, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't be happy at all, and even felt a little gloomy.

"Go on."

In the Warm Pavilion, Luo Yang, the commander of Jinyiwei, and several eunuchs in charge of the East Factory, and several young eunuchs did not dare to speak out.Kneel on the ground and bow your head.

"The slaves and servants reported the incident according to the report. The news that Uncle Ning Yuan entered the capital was spread in the capital the day before yesterday. The people in the capital who were a little flustered have calmed down a lot."

"In the capital, the exchange rate between silver and money has stabilized a lot immediately. The situation where silver is expensive and money is cheap has been greatly improved. Shengdou people are no longer in a hurry to exchange the copper coins in their hands for silver dollars. However, the jewelry market in the jewelry market outside Qianmen Probably dropped by [-]%."

"Yesterday, the servants inspected Gangwa City, Chaoyangmenwaiguanxiang, etc. The price of grain, oil and cloth in the capital:: .s. also dropped slightly, compared to the price dropped when the slave chief Abatai bandits harassed Gyeonggi a few days ago. Nearly one and a half percent. Many shopkeepers of small businesses said that when Uncle Ningyuan came, it was inevitable that the slaves would die and be defeated. Moreover, the southern sea route was smooth, and the southern rice from Tianjin would continue to flow to the capital. Still hoarding from time to time, isn’t it courting death? What is it? Simply pack it up and sell it. Some shrewd shops still write on the door that the store accepts Tongbao to attract business.” Many honorable ministers are preparing to jointly invite Uncle Ning Yuan, and there seems to be some reason behind it."

"What are they going to do?! With close contacts with foreign ministers, aren't they afraid of my king's law? Don't they fear the ancestral system?".

"The slaves and maidservants ambushed in the houses of the honorable lords, and it seems that the lords in the capital are very envious of the lords in the capital, who can do business with Uncle Ning Yuan, so they recommend Zhou Guozhang. In the lead, I plan to do some business with Uncle Ning Yuan..."

"Whoa!"

Some sullen Chongzhen pushed the cinnabar, pens and inkstones, memorials and other things on the table to the ground.A sickly flush appeared on his face.

The reason why there is such a performance.It was all because of a memorial from the censors.

Unexpectedly, this memorial did not impeach Uncle Ning Yuan, but made a detailed analysis in many aspects such as military use, money and food, territory, and employment.

"The soldiers that the imperial court relies on today are nothing more than the Southern Guangdong Army and the Liaodong Army! Those who can fight and dare to fight. The Southern Guangdong Army is better than the Liaodong Army. Although the Liaodong Army and horses are not as capable as the Southern Guangdong Army, they are all controlled by the imperial court. The Southern Guangdong Army is all private soldiers of Uncle Ningyuan. The salaries received by the soldiers and the equipment they use are all from the wealth of Uncle Ningyuan’s family. The military orders they receive and the missions they receive are all from Uncle Ningyuan. The soldiers only know There is Uncle Ning Yuan." "I have also heard that the land under the jurisdiction of Uncle Ning Yuan is no less than tens of thousands of miles. There are vast fertile fields and thousands of miles of fertile fields. You can cook several times at one year old, and the people can sing songs with drumming. Why don't you see such a land of abundance? Uncle Ning Yuan handed over to the imperial court? Since it is ordered by the Ming court, why can’t the imperial court send officials and officials to promote kingship? Is there any king in the world, why is there a different world in Nanzhong?"

"Since Uncle Ning Yuan is an official of our Ming Dynasty and has received the favor of the emperor, why are the official positions, military system, and taxation system of his ministry different from our Ming Dynasty? What is his intention?"

Every word and every sentence of this memorabilia is like a sharp sword piercing the deepest lesion in Chongzhen's heart.

The Liaodong army only paid a high salary, but they were lacking in fighting skills. He could bear this.The officers and soldiers in the interior, such as Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, Liu Zeqing, etc. killed the good and pretended to be meritorious, looting counties and counties.Because these are just mange diseases and will not threaten his emperor's throne.

However, the memorandum of the censors directly pointed out that Li Shouhan was far more dangerous to the Ming court than Liaodong rebels and mainland rogues.

"He has a strong ship, sharp guns, and a powerful army. Why don't you give it to Your Majesty with both hands to stabilize the world? This man has a full treasury, money and food. Why don't you give it to Your Majesty so that the people of Ming Dynasty will have enough food and clothing. Your Majesty's kindness?"

"All of the above are enough to show the heart of disobedience!"

"Why don't I know that the harm of reusing Uncle Ning Yuan is like quenching thirst with poison and putting out fire with salary?"

With Wang Chengen's arrival, Luo Yangxing and others retreated with relief, leaving only a few rough envoys and eunuchs to clean up all the messy items thrown by Chongzhen in the Nuan Pavilion, and then retreated respectfully. Only the master and servant were left to discuss secretly.

"But right now the imperial court has no money, food or soldiers. What will you do to me?"

"Your Majesty, since the decree has been issued today to order Uncle Ning Yuan to enter the palace to make a statement, why not let him present a strategy to the emperor to see how to raise money and food? No matter what strategy he proposes, it will be brought to the court for public discussion."

In this way, those ministers of civil and military affairs who regard money as their fate will inevitably regard Li Shouhan as a scourge, respecting ghosts and gods and keeping a distance, why are they talking about forming a gang with him?

Wang Chengen had dealt with Li Shouhan many times, and he had been to Hue, Shouhan's hometown, many times. He knew something about the money and grain raising of the Nanyue Army. When he was brought to the court for discussion by the officials, he immediately became a public enemy of the court and the opposition.

"However, under Uncle Ning Yuan's rule, although the businessmen in the mainland complained quite a bit, claiming that the tax was heavy, there was a system worth learning from."

Wang Chengen handed Chongzhen a cup of hot tea, and took a few sips of the hot tea, which made Chongzhen feel a little warm in this October weather.

"The servants are also people who have been to Nanzhong. Although they just took a look at the flowers, they saw some things. Apart from other things, the most touching things for the servants are the several money and grain systems in Nanzhong. The gentry pays food and does errands, and under the entire Ning Yuanbo’s rule, there is no one who pays money, food, taxes, and does not bear official corvee. Even Ning Yuanbo’s own family also has to pay taxes and silver to the treasury.”

"The affairs of the world do not worry about scarcity but inequality. Since everyone has to pay taxes, the people's will is all right. And there is a system of unified progressive tax. If the family's land and other items reach a certain amount, the land tax that needs to be paid Taxes will increase, and as a result, the major families will have to divide their families to avoid taxes. But I never thought of it. This move is one of Uncle Ning Yuan's schemes."

"Yangmou? Companion, how do you explain this?"

"Your Majesty, there is a saying in the officialdom that one should not offend the rich in government. It means that local officials must cooperate with the famous families in the administration, otherwise a word will not work. The so-called government orders are difficult to come out. Yamen is. But Uncle Ningyuan’s implementation of the unified progressive tax system is to leave the road to you. Let you choose. Is each house separated from each other. Or do you tie together and pay more taxes? His treasury is full, if you separate the family to avoid taxes, you will fall into another trap of his, and after a few or ten years of rule, you will have a rich family! That's why Uncle Ning Yuan can Under the rule, it is as handy as an arm and a finger."  …

"Your Majesty, based on my humble and stupid opinion, what I am suffering from today is not the Liaodong slaves and the inland rogues."  …

Li Shouhan, who came here under the imperial edict, thanked Chongzhen for the seat he had given him, sat down, and reported his answer to Emperor Chongzhen in a loud voice.

"Well, from what Ai Qing sees, where is the problem?"

Li Shouhan pondered for a while, and then said to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, in fact, Liaodong rebels, King Li Chuang, Eight Great Kings, Cao Cao and others are not to be feared. Liaodong is only a few hundred miles around, with a vast land and few people, and Nurhachi's violent levies , hair shaved and easy to serve, the people of Liaodong were full of dissatisfaction, and in order to maintain their Eight Banners' combat power, they continued to expand outwards, conquering Mongolia and North Korea, which cost a lot of money and caused great damage. The national treasury is empty, how can Huang Taiji survive to this day?"

Stealing his head up to glance at Chongzhen, seeing that Chongzhen was listening intently, even Wang Chengen, who was waiting on the sidelines, was also concentrating. Seeing Shouhan's eyes drifting over, Wang Chengen responded with encouraging eyes, signaling him to continue.

"Although there are many thieves, they often threaten and intimidate hundreds of thousands. However, from the perspective of the ministers, except for a few old thieves and brave fighters among the thieves, they are all good people who have come to survive. If the court can come up with Food and grass relief, if you don’t fight, you will be defeated. As for Abatai and other slaves, they are even more clowns. If there is His Majesty’s will, I will not send an army, and the enemy will be defeated in a few days."

"Gathering people is called wealth. Today's priority, whether it is to suppress the rebellion in Liaodong, or to put down the rogue bandits in the pass, the first thing to do is money, the second is money, and the third is money. If you have money, heroes from all over the world will come from thousands of miles away." , If you have money, you will have a strong army. And the way to get money is nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. The so-called revenue, there are two strategies, one is to collect grain and [-] rents for the officials and gentry, and the other is to open customs. When the Ming Dynasty was first built, the world was free There are a lot of fields, and most of the small people are self-cultivated, and there are few wealthy households with fields connected to the rice paddies. Although the Taizu promised that the people would not pay the grain, the root cause was that the scholars said that there were not enough officials, so they encouraged them to go forward. Don’t worry about too much, don’t worry about too little, there is no need to worry about it in the past. But now, there is no land left unoccupied, and fewer people pay taxes. The land that does not pay taxes has occupied more than half of it.”

"How can the state treasury be sufficient? What's more, the increase of wealthy households will increase the power of money and food. If it is better, it will embezzle the land, and if it is worse, it will raise troops to rebel. Whether it is Nurhachi in Liaodong or She'an in Shuixi, the root cause is nothing more than wealthy households on the frontier. Therefore. I suggest that the law of the ancestors is the rule of the country, and the law of the majesty should also be the rule of the country. The area under the jurisdiction of the minister has taken the lead in implementing the unified grain payment, which is an example for the world. Your Majesty should implement the measures of the minister. Today, the minister came to Beijing and brought a preliminary feasible plan. , the follow-up minister will first send the tax burden of He Jingchen's jurisdiction to the capital to stop the mouth of the traitorous minister. Your Majesty can first implement Zhili and then Jiangbei. If this can be done, the prosperity of Ming Dynasty will be just around the corner."

Then Shouhan introduced the detailed content and significance of these two measures to Chongzhen in detail. The government and gentry pay grain to fill the treasury, and the [-]-year rent reduction will make the people happy.The revenue of the customs is mainly used for military expenses and daily expenses in the palace. It is the same as now, the revenue of the customs goes to the inner government and not to the household department.

...

"Your Majesty. If these three things can be done, I dare to say that not only the slaves in the east can be pacified, but the thieves can be stopped. It is the act of rejuvenating the Ming Dynasty that His Majesty has always wanted to do. It can also be seen sooner or later. I dare not say that I will catch up." The rule of benevolence and publicity. But 20% to [-]% of the time when Lord Shenzong was in power is still there! The Ming Dynasty can have at least [-] years of prosperity in the hands of His Majesty!"

"My lord, this servant also thinks that what Uncle Ning Yuan said is very true. The so-called financial management is nothing more than four words of increasing income and reducing expenditure." Seeing that Chongzhen was moved by the bright future outlined by Li Shouhan's words, Wang Chengen also helped a few times while the iron was hot. sentence.

"The so-called open source means, as Uncle Ningyuan said, open customs and collect customs duties. This time Uncle Ningyuan came to Beijing, and the taxes collected by Shanghai and other customs on behalf of the emperor have been released into the treasury. One million yuan. Just now, the slaves heard from the servants below that if the customs are opened along the river, the profits from opening customs in Tianjin, Denglai, etc. will be multiplied!"

"The so-called throttling, let me bluntly say that the greatest throttling is when the people are not chaotic. Why are the common people not chaotic? It's just singing. However, with the current land rent, it is extremely difficult to satisfy the hunger. The few are five or six, and the many are seven or eight. Money is exploited, and there are people who work for a year to borrow food. I once saw a man in Guangdong who rented five acres of the patriarch’s field, and then borrowed 150 catties of grain. After the autumn, the account was settled, and the rations were deducted. The patriarch owed [-] catties.”

Shou Han put down the teacup in his hand, nodded his thanks to Wang Chengen for his help, and continued to explain to the emperor.

"Back then, the two countries were in turmoil, the natives hated each other, and the clans, villages and towns attacked and killed each other. Most of the reasons came from this."

"The so-called wealth is no more than three generations. Although there is a saying that the children and grandchildren are unworthy, there is also the risk that the population will increase and the farmland will not increase. Let a couple own [-] acres of good farmland and have two sons. The two sons are married respectively. They each had two sons, and after three generations, the family has more than ten people, but the field is still only [-] mu. If you talk about ideal things, the best is of course [-] mu for each person and a cow. Today's reality cannot be forced. The minister's policy is to reduce rent and interest. Regardless of the form of tenancy, at least [-]% will be deducted. After the rent reduction, Susukina will not exceed [-]%, and good land will not exceed [-]%. The national tax is only half of it. If we can promote the practice of plowing in the middle of the south, interplanting rice and wheat, interplanting wheat and rapeseed, or planting potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc., to increase production, there will be no problem with singing songs from all over the world. , Which lard is blinded by the heart, will do the desperate business of licking blood with the knife head, if the thief is not fair, it will be flat!"

Seeing that Chongzhen was silent, but he didn't seem to object, Li Shouhan went on to say: "There is another policy minister who has already suggested, that is, to set up a customs. The customs are quite controversial. Some people say that this is to fight for the interests of the people, but in fact it is not. The policy can be said to emphasize agriculture and suppress business."

"Agriculture and mulberry are the foundation of the world. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty once said that gold and silver can't be eaten by hunger, and can't be clothed by cold. They are not as good as grains and mulberry. After that, the common people of all dynasties are more happy to do business than to farm. This is because farming is not only hard work, And the profit is not as good as doing business. Merchants travel from north to south for a year, and they can buy a hundred acres of fertile land. Farmers can hardly afford enough food and clothing for a year. So why do they persuade farmers to teach farming and mulberry, so that people can secure their fields. Therefore, the establishment of customs is a sage who emphasizes agriculture and suppresses it. It is a business move, and the customs are very profitable, which can make up for the shortage of the country, so why not do it?"

This is a big matter, and Chongzhen also knows that this is undoubtedly a move that will turn the whole court upside down, both inside and outside the court. Naturally, Li Shouhan's few words cannot be used to realize the whole world.

However, there is one minutiae among Shou Han's many suggestions that Chongzhen and Wang Cheng'en appreciate, and it is time for people to draw up an order and prepare to implement it.

"Your Majesty, in the government treasuries of various provinces, the so-called official silver is of different quality and shape. It is often converted and cashed between one province and another. It is extremely inconvenient for merchants and people to use. In my humble opinion, it is not To unify the currency system in various places will make the people less troubled. Even the Tongbao should be recast with the Tongbao minted when His Majesty first ascended the throne as a benchmark.”…

"If Your Majesty agrees with this move, I am willing to do my best. As long as Your Majesty tells you how much money you want to mint, I will organize manpower to mint for Your Majesty. As for all the expenses during the period, why do you and Your Majesty have to share so clearly?"

These words made Chongzhen feel very comfortable!

Ever since Shou Han entered Beijing, or since Hong Chengchou's main force was besieged in the Guangning area, his mood has never been as comfortable as it is now!

listen!What is Gan Guo Zhong Liang?For the sake of my country, Uncle Ning Yuan would rather mint coins for me out of his own pocket!

However, Chongzhen didn't know that this move was tantamount to casting the currency of the Ming court and handing it over to Li Shouhan.Shou Han now holds the copper mines in the Bodhisattva area and the copper mines on Luzon Island. He doesn't use copper to cast cannons, and there is no special use for it other than wrapping the bottom of the ship with copper skin. What are you doing here?

Instead of piled up there to grow copper rust, it is better to cast it into money!

But Chongzhen also thought of something, if Li Shouhan said these words in the court, the whole court would definitely explode...

"Uncle Ning Yuan's actions are tantamount to making enemies of all courtiers, nobles, and clans. Even wealthy businessmen and scholars everywhere will regard him as an enemy. No matter how much money and food there is, it can only be used by me!"